Eternal Dawn
by Foehammer123
Summary: The UNSC Redoubtable and Paris were considered lost with all hands after disappearing trying to follow Regret's ship to Installation 05. However, a message received from them months after their disappearance prompts ONI and the UNSC to send one of their newest ships to find out the situation. The UNSC Eternity and its crew finds much more than missing ships.
1. Operation Briefing

**Chapter 1: Operation Briefing**

 **A/N: Hey, guys. I know that I've missed my intended updates by quite a bit. However, life has been hard personally. So, I've sorta lost my muse and will be putting my other stories on hold until I can go back to the drawing board and rewrite them. So, prepare for a major rewrite of everything :D I'm slowly getting my life together though, and I'm also looking for a Beta to help get these updates through quicker. However, back to the point of this A/N, I know many of you are probably like 'Oh look here's another one to be like updated every few years.' Hear me out though. I've been doing a lot more research into both RWBY and Halo, both the main series and the extended universe through extra games or literature. These two are some of my favorite universes. Halo in terms of the intricacies of politics and military conflict while RWBY has that modern fantasy setting that deals with the issues of racism and moral conflicts. So, here I am, with a renewed muse and quite a bit of this story done. So, ah, give it shot will ya? And like always, I own absolutely nothing besides several OCs and the plot of the story. Oh and just saying, lots of elements are going to be greatly changed. So don't exactly expect it to be like either universe.**

A soft feminine voice speaks into an antique voice recorder, lips pressed tightly together whenever she thought of what to say, "The war had been over for only a few months. The UNSC was slowly handing back control over to the UEG. However, the war had taken its toll on the UNSC's fighting capabilities. The Home fleet was devastated as were several other fleets that jumped in after the battle was at its zenith. Combined, the fleets barely passed a hundred or so functional ships and even that was a stretch as many were either heavily damaged or at half strength in terms of personnel. Much less to man an offensive against the Covenant remnants. However, all wasn't lost as the Elites were a god's send during the Battle of Earth. The Covies were burning through our ships like paper. Thankfully, that schism between the Elites and the rest of the Covenant resulted in many of the Sangheili becoming turncoats. As fighting continued around High Charity, a fleet of Sangheili jumped into Earth orbit and engaged Truth's fleet. We watched as they made work of the remnants of Truth's fleet as a majority had gone through the portal with Truth's dreadnaught. Still, we weren't prepared for what lay on the other side of that portal. It was tough fighting but the Sangheili and our fleet were able to do enough damage that most of the Truth's remaining fleet was decimated or forced to retreat. Shortly after, the A-"

"Cassandra! You better not be making another of those logs of yours when you said you would be studying!" A sharp, feminine voice rang through the air as a young woman bolted up right in her seat with her eyes wide.

"Um, I'm studying mum! I was just repeating something in the textbook out loud!" Cassandra called back, hoping her mother bought it.

"Mhm, you may be an adult now and you may have fought in that war, but you're still the horrible liar you were as a child. So, wrap up your studying and get ready for dinner. Wear something nice, we've got guests over. And no more making logs! Go out and find some friends, it isn't healthy for you to stay inside all day." Her mother told her through the door followed by the sound of footsteps moving away from the door. Cassandra took a deep breath and sighed. Her mother had been right. She was an adult and yet she was stuck here, living in her parent's guest room since she had no place to go. The end of a war did that to people. With the Home Fleet so devastated, she was among the many that weren't renewed for service as there were no ships available to man. Her own ship, the _UNSC Dawnbreaker_ , was one of the first Marathon-class heavy cruisers to engage the Covenant above Earth when Truth's fleet jumped in. Consequently, it was destroyed with few managing to make it to the escape pods and get out. She didn't take the crashing landing gracefully. Cassandra remembered hitting the ground in the pod and waking up months later in a hospital in Montreal. She spent the better part of a year confined to the bed to allow her to recover. As these memories ran through her mind, Cassandra fingered the medal on her naval uniform. ' _A Bronze Star, everyone on the Dawnbreaker got it.'_ She sighed and looked to her right where a display case, courtesy of the UNSC, displayed more bronze stars. A lot of the people on the Dawnbreaker didn't have much family left so many listed other crew members as the next of kin. As a result, a lot of the medals were awarded posthumously to those that lived through the ordeal. Another sigh escaped her lips as she quickly put her uniform on before stepping in front of the mirror. She curled her auburn hair around her fingers, huffing as she took note of the hair that was beginning to pass her shoulder. ' _I should get that cut soon, it's getting long again.'_ As she thought about what to do with her hair, she made eye contact with herself and she smirked at the azure eyes that shone with excitement. She hadn't felt this excited since she was assigned to the _UNSC Dawnbreaker_. Oh, it wasn't anything really special. Dinner was to be a formal event, and Cassandra was just happy to feel her uniform on her again. She examined herself, scoffing again after noticing that she was losing her athletic build.

"Honey, if you're done looking at yourself in the mirror, our guests are waiting on us now," Her mother stepped into her room with a warm smile. Cassandra sighed and looked up at her mother with a slight scowl. Her mother couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the scowl, "Oh dear, you aren't getting any taller. You've inherited your dad's height. Now come on, dinner will get cold." With that, she turned and walked off with Cassandra in tow who huffed the whole way from the slight to her height. Cassandra turned into the dining room, ready to greet their guests who her mother was being a pain about hiding their identities when she stopped in her tracks, shocked by who was sitting at the table. One was her old commanding officer, Captain Musa Ludovicus, and the other was somebody from ONI which was a given with the symbol on their shoulders. Cassandra immediately snapped to full attention and saluted her former commanding officer.

"At ease, Lieutenant, we're not on the Dawnbreaker anymore," Musa told her with a comforting smile as he gestured to the open seats when the man from ONI coughed. "Ah, I'm sorry Larson. Lieutenant, meet Agent Larson from ONI. He's an old friend of mine who called me up for a favor." Cassandra and her mother sat at the table, her mother looked between the three with a suspicious look on her face.

"Listen, Mister…?" Her mother left the question open as she realized that she hadn't bothered to properly learn their name. Only that an old acquaintance of Cassandra's was visiting with an ONI agent.

"Ludovicus, Miss Westfield. Captain Ludovicus, I was Cassandra's commanding officer when she served aboard the Dawnbreaker. I must apologize, I forgot to introduce us when we made plans to visit.

"Oh, it's quite all right, Captain Ludovicus. Cassandra here could use the company. She's been cooped up in her room for the past weeks, barely going out," Her mother gave her a pointed look at that and Cassandra huffed in her seat.

"Captain, if we can get back to the reason for our visit?" Agent Larson said, his voice calming and soothing but that instantly put Cassandra on edge. Everyone in the navy knew to never trust an ONI agent out right.

"Can we eat first? I'm starving after studying all day," Cassandra said as she gestured for her guests to dig in before grabbing a roll from a nearby basket.

"Of course, we should eat first before the food gets cold," Musa said as he began to dig in with a pointed look at Larson who looked ready to object. Larson huffed and followed suit with Cassandra's mother following right afterward. Table talk was light and friendly, but there was an air of dread. ONI involvement was never really good. Only reason why Cassandra didn't tell her mother to send Larson away was cause it was her old captain that set this all up. Dinner wrapped up quickly and the wine was broken out.

"Nothing breaks the ice better than alcohol. God knows I learned that lesson better than most," Musa said with a soft smile before Larson coughed, drawing all their attention to him.

"Miss Westfield, your captain is an old friend of mine. I asked him to refer somebody to...lead a mission after he declined to lead it himself. He's given me an outstanding performance review about you. Graduated from the Naval Academy ranked five out of four hundred and seventy three students. Exemplary service during the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV and during the Fall of Reach resulted in your promotion to Lieutenant and reassignment to the Dawnbreaker after the destruction of your previous assignment, the UNSC Leviathan. Following this, the Dawnbreaker was assigned to the Home Fleet and saw action against Covenant forces during the latter part of the battle of Earth where Truth's fleet jumped into the system and engaged what was left of the Home Fleet. The Dawnbreaker was amongst the first to engage Truth's fleet. It was able to destroy two battlecruisers alongside other Marathon-class cruisers and managing to heavily damage a third before it took too much damage and the core began to meltdown. Escaped with roughly a quarter of the crew. Escape pod landed hard in Northern Canada where navy personnel picked up survivors of the crash landing and took them to Montreal for recovery. Awarded the Bronze Star alongside the entire crew of the Dawnbreaker for its part in the defense of Earth. Application to renew service was denied due to the inability of finding a ship to place you with. Does that sound right?" Larson stopped, trying to make sure he hadn't said anything wrong or different.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Cassandra said as she poured herself another glass of wine. She didn't know how to feel about the fact that Larson knew more about her service record than even she remembered about her own service record, "But what does this have to do with me."

"We're launching two ships at New Years time. Both are the first of their class. However, before I continue, I need to know that you're on board. Otherwise, we can part ways and pretend this talk never happened. You have me continue and you're agreeing to come aboard this operation." Larson warned her and they sat in silence for a good minute or two, sipping their wine as each pondered what they heard. Cassandra caught her mother's eyes and gave her a questioning look, looking for help but all she got in return was her mother's head shaking no at her. This was her choice and she knew what she had to do.

"Go on, Agent Larson. I don't really feel like I belong on the ground anymore," Cassandra said and her mother gave her a sad but supportive smile.

"Very well, Captain Westfield, the ships getting launched are the first of the Infinity-class supercarriers. Very ambitious project that has been in progress since 2544. The UNSC Infinity is the only ship officially launching on New Years. The UNSC Eternity is going to be listed as incomplete. However, Captain Westfield, you will be taking the Eternity on its maiden voyage." Agent Larson was surprised to see the shock on Cassandra's face. A promotion to Captain and her own ship, most people would be celebrating but Cassandra looked genuinely surprised and shocked at what happened.

"Wait, why me? Honestly, sir, there have to be more qualified people out there and Captain? I'm an inexperienced Lieutenant, sir. I've only been in service for what a few months before Sigma and only a couple of months or so after Sigma?," Cassandra stated, confused and out of breath.

"You were recommended by Captain Ludovicus to lead this operation. You cannot hope to command this operation as a Lieutenant, especially when your frigate compliment's highest ranking officer on each ship is a commander. So, I'm using my authority to give you several skip-promotions to Captain. As for more qualified, yes. But with the Covenant not being truly gone, we need as many veteran hands out re establishing contact with our colonies or escorting colony ships to recolonize some of our former colonies as quickly as possible. That and I trusts Musa to provide me with personnel that area up to par with their objectives. Anymore questions?" Larson quipped, raising an eyebrow.

"No, uh...What exactly is my mission?" Cassandra asked, wanting to get this night over with.

"I thought we'd never get to that," Larson said with a smile as he pulled out a datapad from inside his jacket and showed it to Cassandra. "This is a message aimed at Earth from an unknown location from a familiar source." He placed it on the table after connecting it to some speakers to amplify the sound.

" _Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is UNSC FFG 221, Redoubtable, and UNSC FFG 294, Paris. Requesting reinforcements. Slipspace drives are inoperable, engines are inoperable. Currently in orbit around unknown planet, system unknown."_ The pad repeated the message until Larson turned it off.

"The Redoubtable and Paris were considered missing in action after failing to reach Installation 05 with the In Amber Clad and Coral Sea. This was message was received five days ago. Now, these ships should be a full operating strength given they weren't engaged in any fighting until they attempted to follow the Prophet's carrier through its slipspace portal. Issue was, they never made it to the other side. Coral Sea managed to get some data from the Installation and make it back to Earth alongside the Dusk. You, Captain Westfield, are tasked with getting to those ships, seeing what could be done about their drives and evacuate the crew. Scuttle the ships of they can't be repaired." Larson said as he stood up and put his data pad away.

"Anything else sir?" Cassandra said through a yawn, noticing her mother was vacant from the room. ' _It was pretty late, so she must've gone to bed.'_ Her thoughts reasoned out. ' _Hopefully dad and Leslie get back before I have to leave. I don't want to leave mom here alone again.'_

"I expect you to be ready to ship out in two months. Understood, Captain?" Larson raised an eyebrow as Cassandra saluted.

"Crystal, sir."

"Very well, Captain. Come, Musa, let us depart. We have much to discuss and it's better if Captain Westfield here is able to rest."

The two were escorted to the door by Cassandra who watched them go before she shut the door and sighed. She made her way to her room, exhausted but proud. She believed herself inexperienced but she knew that this was a chance to prove her worth. She quickly switched into some pajamas before flopping on her bed, falling asleep as soon as she hit the mattress.


	2. The Eternity

**Chapter 2: The Eternity**

 **Brief A/N: I own nothing except for all OCs. And even then, some are my friends so yup. Enjoy!**

Cassandra tapped her fingers against the desk, bored out of her mind, as the ship she was on was preparing to dock at a station connected to the Eternity's dry dock. The past two months were a blur. Her father and older sister returned a few days after her briefing from their business trips. She told them that she was being shipped out again and the family went into overdrive. It was amusement parks, vacations, and general family bonding the last two months. In the week leading up to her departure, the Westfield family were flown out to Quito as Cassandra would use the tether there to reach the station above and then board a transport ship to the Eternity's dry dock. Even though she was the captain of the ship, Cassandra didn't know where exactly her ship was even located. But, she pushed those thoughts to the side as she enjoyed the last week with her family. She bid her family farewell at the end of the week before boarding the space tether and shooting upward into the stars. Once in orbit, it was a few twists and turns before she was situated in a passenger craft bound for the Oort Cloud apparently. ' _Odd place to have a dry dock, must've wanted to keep information on these ships under lock and key'._ Cassandra thought as she settled in for the month long trip by stepping into the cryo tube after making sure her gear and luggage was secured.

She gasped, feeling her body heat up after being frozen for a month. The front of the pod opened up to a familiar face chuckling at her.

"Welcome back to the living, Captain Westfield. May I suggest dressing yourself so we can get you to the bridge as quickly as possible," Agent Larson said with a smirk as Cassandra gave him a cold glare before quickly donning her navy officer's uniform and donning the new patches that denoted her new rank as captain. As she stepped into the hallway outside of the cryo chamber, Larson was there with an armed escort and her luggage. They began making their way into the station as Cassandra made eye contact with Larson and looked over to their escort in a silent question.

"We had a bit of a situation with the Infinity. A squadron of Insurrectionists were able to infiltrate the Infinity's drydock and gain control of the ship's bridge. It was unfortunate but proved beneficial as we were able to test the Spartan IVs. They proved beyond capable and were able to neutralize the situation with minimal casualties. Ah, look up Captain Westfield, that is the beauty coming under your command." At Larson's suggestion, she looked up and gasped. The UNSC Eternity was a massive ship. Its steel gray chassis and superstructure were default navy colors. However, it was massive length. She saw some of the vehicle bays open as construction personnel made their last rounds and tests. Her eyes roamed to the front of the vessel, marvelling at what she knew was the location of the MAC guns. Four of them, if the bits of information that Larson were telling her about the ship was true.

"This...is an amazing piece of work. Is that a frigate?" Cassandra asked watching as a portion of the Eternity opened up and a Strident-Class Frigate docked before the doors closed back over it.

"That is a frigate, Captain Westfield. A Strident-Class to be exact. The Eternity and Infinity each carry a compliment of ten frigates inside of their bays. Each is run by about one hundred ninety personnel. The Eternity itself numbers roughly at eighteen thousand one hundred personnel. Sadly, we can't spare any Spartan IVs to the Eternity. Since it's a relatively new program, we're keeping it centered on the Infinity. However, that doesn't mean the Eternity doesn't have its S Deck and Combat Deck. Those still exist and they're home to Delta Company, the last remnants of the Spartan IIIs. They've been augmented already so we can't give them the updated ones, however, they can use the War Games to get trained as Delta was never trained since Kurt and Mendez either died or disappeared from Currahee. Especially after the whole planet went nuclear. Anyways, this way." Larson led her through a maze of hallways as she nodded at multiple people who saluted her. He would show her to her quarters and other vital areas such as the medbay and the cafeteria before finally taking her to the bridge. Her eyes widened as she stepped aboard the bridge. The wide viewport gave her an amazing view of the space beyond it. As she was admiring the view, the table in the middle of the room lit up as a young woman in a navy uniform appeared. The AI was a light yellow color, giving off a welcoming and cheery feeling.

"Greetings Captain Westfield, Agent Larson. I am the Ship Director of the UNSC Eternity, Aimee. Designation AME 2345-15. A pleasure to meet you, Captain!" The AI chirped happily.

"Greetings Aimee, I will leave Captain Westfield in your hands now. I have to make my way over to the Infinity before heading back to Earth," He turned to Cassandra and held out his hand, "Good luck, Captain Westfield. It's a shame I'll be unable to see both of these ships on their maiden voyage. Ah, right. Before you panic, the Sangheili are sending a light cruiser to support you at the behest of High Command. So, don't immediately fire on any Covenant ships entering the area. Unless they fail to identify themselves. Then blast them to hell. Anyways, I must get going. Good luck Captain and God's speed." Larson turned away after Cassandra shook his hand and walked out. Cassandra swept her gaze around the bridge, watching as the command crew busied themselves at their terminals before speaking her first words as the Captain of the Eternity.

"Aimee, get me a diagnostic report of the ship and a detailed document about our complement of personnel and supplies. If I'm running this ship with you, I gotta know what I'm dealing with," She told the AI who saluted her before fizzling out. Cassandra made her way to the holo-table just as Aimee reappeared with several files appearing in front of Cassandra. The numbers presented to her were staggering. The crew as a whole was eighteen thousand one hundred and six in total. Most were navy personnel and marines. However, what interested her was the four hundred civilians and six huragoks assigned to the ship. "Aimee, explain to me the purpose of the civilians and Covie engineers."

"The civilians fulfill a variety of roles from gardeners to maintain the gardens on the recreation deck, to maintenance crew, and even researchers and scientists. Some, however, are dedicated to the medical bays as doctors and nurses. As for the Huragoks, they were assigned to the Eternity to repair damage that our engineers can't fix as easily and to make sure our improved slipspace drives are functioning properly. That and they've already improved quite a bit of the ship's technology and systems before we even get underway," Aimee provided as Cassandra nodded and thanked her for a job well done.

"Aimee, are we ready to launch yet?" Cassandra stepped in front of the viewport, marvelling in the beauty of the Oort cloud and the cosmos around her. Aboard the Dawnbreaker and the Leviathan, she'd never been able to truly appreciate the cosmos around her.

"The station crew is giving the thumbs up," Aimee reported in.

"All right, I want a report on all systems before we detach from the station and launch the ship!" Cassandra ordered as the crew around her sounded in the affirmative as they hurried along, and got the reports that their captain asked for.

"Engines are reporting in the clear!"

"Weapons systems are green!"

"Cryo systems and vehicle bays are reporting green!"

"Frigates are stored and ready, ma'am!"

The flurry of voices were all affirmatives that the systems aboard the Eternity were running smoothly. "Aimee, detach us from the station, and we'll wait for our escort detail outside of the dry dock." Cassandra ordered, "All hands, get to your stations, we're launching the Eternity." Her words were followed quickly as the crew settled in front of their terminals and made sure to monitor the vast systems of the ship. The ship gave a shudder as the tethers holding it to the station were detached before a slight hum filled the bridge. Cassandra put her hand against the viewport, feeling it vibrate with life. She kept her eyes forward, watching as the ship began to slowly move out of the station which slid by in her peripheral vision before it was just the Oort Cloud and space in whatever direction she looked. The dark void, with pin pricks of light was glazed over by a hazy tint due to the gas of the Oort Cloud. A disturbance in the distance drew her attention as someone to her left notified her of what it was.

"Slipspace disturbance, seems like a vessel, ma'am." Cassandra watched as a covenant ship slipped in existence from the disturbance. It was a CRS-Class Light Cruiser, so Cassandra wasn't completely worried about it.

"Raise comms with that ship, and get our weapons trained on it," Cassandra barked out as her eyes narrowed at the cruiser that was getting closer.

"Comms established, sending it to the holo-table." Cassandra made her way to the table, watching as an Ultra denoted by the white combat harness appeared on the table.

"This is the Captain of the Eternity, Captain Westfield. Identify yourself," Cassandra said and waited for the response from the Ultra.

It only took a minute or two before the Ultra's deep voice resonated throughout the bridge, "This is Shipmaster Ditam 'Vratum of the Unflinching Resolve. We were sent by Fleet Master Rtas 'Vadum on request from your High Command as...an 'exercise' in cooperation."

"Very well, Shipmaster Vratum. Aimee, do you have the jump plotted to where the Redoubtable and Paris are?" Cassandra asked, quirking an eyebrow at the AI next to the hologram of the Ultra.

"A rough jump plotted, captain. The signal Agent Larson gave from the message ONI received was scrambled. I could only get a rough jump, and even then calling it rough is putting it lightly." Aimee responded as Cassandra sighed.

"All right, Shipmaster Vratum. We'll initiate the jump, follow us through," Cassandra told the Ultra who merely nodded before his hologram fizzled out of existence. "All hands, prepare for slipspace jump. All non-essential crew should report to the cryo chambers immediately. I repeat, all non-essential crew should report to the cryo chambers immediately. All other personnel should prepare for slipspace jump."

A few hours passed as the Eternity and Unflinching Resolve made their way to the edge of the Oort Cloud in preparation for the jump. "Captain, I recommend allowing me to finish final preparations for the jump as we have exited the Oort Cloud and are cleared to jump without too much fear pulling anything into slipspace with us."

"Understood, Aimee you have the con." Cassandra went back to the viewport, looking out at the vast void in front of her again. The world around her seemed to go quiet as the general noise of the bridge decreased to a light buzz in the back of her mind. She watched as the armor began to slide down over the viewport in preparation for slipspace as the familiar black orb formed with blue fiery wisps at its edges. She turned and made her way out of the bridge to her quarters, knowing that Aimee would notify her of any changes.

 _ **One Week Later**_

"Captain? You're needed on the bridge, ASAP." Aimee's panicked voice woke Cassandra up immediately. She sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes before quickly switching into her uniform. She briskly made her way through the halls, now bustling with life. ' _The crew must've been taken out of cryo...Means we've arrived but why did Aimee sound so panicked.'_ She thought to herself as she sidestepped a squad of marines hustling through the hallway. She stepped onto the bridge, immediately taking note of the fact that everyone was clustered around the viewport. Aimee fizzled into existence on the holo-table, catching Cassandra's eye. "Captain, we've located the Redoubtable and Paris. However, the situation is far worse than you can believe. I suggest looking outside before perusing the reports I'm pulling up."

Cassandra made her way past the baffled command staff and looked out over the scene before her. Her eyes widened as she took in the planet before her. It looked habitable but that wasn't what baffled her. It was the moon. A shattered moon to be exact. And it seemed to be holding a relatively normal orbit and the whole moon, fragments and all, moving as one.

"All of you, back to your stations. Aimee, is the planet inhabited?" Cassandra barked as the command staff slowly dispersed back to their station. The fragmented moon on their minds as it was the first of its kind. "And how are the tidal patterns on the planet?"

"Unknown, Captain. Planetary scans are picking up relatively weak signals but there are no satellites in orbit. If it is inhabited, I highly doubt they're as advanced as the UNSC. As for tidal patterns, completely normal. Whatever force is holding that moon together like that, is an unknown." Aimee's word were worrying. However, some of the files she began to read were even more worrying. None of the stars or constellations around the ship were properly identified. As in, they didn't know what stars or constellations surrounded them. The slipspace drive was inactive. Engines were working at least. The same could be said for the Strident-frigates whose slipspace drives were also inactive. No matter what the engineers, both human and Huragok, tried; nothing could get it operational again. Otherwise, all systems were functioning as normal.

"Aimee, where are we exactly?" Cassandra turned away from the holo-table and looked out the viewport again. The planet had several large landmasses, continents by the look of them.

"Unknown, captain. When I said the jump was roughly plotted, I meant it. We're not in UNSC or Covenant space, that's for sure. Otherwise, we would've heard of some sort of radio traffic. The Unflinching Resolve came out an hour before us and are having the same issues. Slipspace drive is inoperable and there's no radio traffic whatsoever." Aimee said as the Unflinching Resolve drifted into sight of the viewport. "They've been running their own scans and feeding it to me. Same results."

"Damn it, do we have fabrication bays?" Cassandra hoped she was right in thinking they did.

"Yes, captain, we do have fabrication bays. Orders?"

"Fabricate a few satellites and get in them a geostationary orbit above those continents. We need data."

"Understood, captain. Relaying the order now. Shall I prepare a sortie to make contact with the Redoubtable and Paris?"

"Where are they?" Cassandra hadn't seen the two frigates from the viewport.

"On the other side of the planet ma'am, shall I notify the Resolve and start up the engines?"

"Immediately." With a small lurch, the Eternity set sail for the other side of the planet.

 **Remnant, One Hour Earlier**

Ruby Rose was sitting on the roof of Signal Academy, watching the stars. She was taking a break from practicing with Crescent Rose. The fifteen year old watched the stars, fantasizing about becoming a huntress to 'save all the people and be a hero.' She watched as a star glowed much brighter than the rest before going back down to its original brightness. The curiosity created by the glow died down quickly as she stood up and used her Semblance to speed down disappear from the roof in a flurry of petals. A few seconds later, she skidded to a stop on the ground before making her way back home.

Unknown to the young Rose, three others had seen that same star. All of whom had the same reaction. Weiss Schnee turned away from the window, dismissing the star's brightness as an anomaly as she raised Myrtenaster and focused once more. She couldn't wait to go to Beacon next month, especially if it meant getting away from her father. The snowflake glyph underneath her faltered as her mind wandered. She sighed in frustration before leaving the room.

Blake Belladonna looked back down from the stars, her mind wondering about the sudden glowing of the star. Her head turned to the side, the black bow on her head flapping gently in the process. She was in an apartment in Vale, courtesy of her parents, as she waited for Beacon to open up for the next school year. She wanted to become a huntress to bring justice to the world, and to get stronger. Adam haunted her memories as she realized that by becoming a huntress, she would have to face him eventually. But, she would cross that bridge when she got there. She removed the bow on her head as she stepped back inside, her cat ears flicking back and forth.

Yang Xiao Long looked back down from the sky, deciding to ignore the bright star as she stared at the nightclub in front of her. She had come her for one purpose and one purpose alone. She looked at the photograph in her hand of her mother before she put it in her pocket. She cracked her hands before making her way into the club, prepared to get the information she wanted and possibly kick some ass in the progress if Junior wasn't willing to part with that information.


	3. First Contact

**Chapter 3: First Contact**

"Redoubtable and Paris are in visual range. Preparing sortie. Launching the Break of Dawn. Frigate away. ETA to contact, five minutes." Aimee narrated to Cassandra who smiled at the name of the frigate. It was apparently decided that one of the complements to the Eternity would pay homage to her former ship. "Satellites ready for launch."

"Do it, keep me posted on whatever information you can glean from the satellites." Cassandra ordered as she kept her eyes on the Redoubtable and Paris as the Break of Dawn approached the Redoubtable first. She watched as one of the hangar bay doors opened and a Pelican flew out before making its way to the Redoubtable. She watched as the Redoubtable's hangar bay doors opened up and admitted the entrance of the Pelican.

"This is Sergeant Angel of Runner 1, we've made contact with the Redoubtable's command crew. Captain, Aimee, this is where things get weird. Apparently, according to the onboard AI and the crew themselves, it's only been a few days since they followed the In Amber Clad into Regret's slipspace portal. It's been months though but the crew insists that it's only been a few days. Hell, even the logs are matching their story. Assuming that the Paris is the same way. Bringing the crew and AI up to speed with current events. Suggest another sortie with the Paris," a voice crackled through the comms. Cassandra nodded to one of the aides nearby who relayed the order. She watched as another frigate, the Ocean's Wrath, making its way towards the Paris. It took a few minutes before the squad on the Paris reported the same. Reports about the status of the ships were streamed to Aimee who sifted through them and left Cassandra with the most important parts. The engines needed repairs that the naval personnel were unable to perform by themselves. A third sortie got the Huragoks on board the ships, initially with some hesitance but soon the crews were able to accept that the war they were fighting was over and that some of their former enemies were allies now. Soon, the Paris and Redoubtable were up and running once more.

"This is Commander Garfield of the UNSC Paris. Thank you for the aid, Captain Westfield. The Paris is at your disposal."

"This is Commander von Punit of the UNSC Redoubtable, we are at your command Captain Westfield."

Cassandra sighed and looked back to the planet. With their slipspace drive down, they'd be unable to do much. The lack of any identifying features made it much worse as Cassandra began to have thoughts that maybe, they were either not in charted space or not even in the same galaxy. Hell, the thought of another dimension crossed her mind as she thought about the shattered moon they had seen upon entry into this system. "Redoubtable, Paris, keep close to the Eternity. All sorties return to the Eternity. We need to RV with the Unflinching Resolve and think about a course of action from there. It's obvious we're stranded here unless one of our messages are picked up." With that, the Eternity made its way back around the planet with the Redoubtable and Paris on its tail.

"Human, we've completed our scans of the planet and report that there are settlements on the planet. If I may, I shall prepare some of my best scouts to perform reconnaissance on one of the bigger landmasses." Vratum relayed to Cassandra who nodded at the suggest.

"Do so, Shipmaster. I'll prepare my own sortie of ODSTs after Serena here gives me a more detailed repo-" She was cut off as Aimee suddenly appeared, looking angry.

"Captain, have a look at this." Cassandra watched as a video feed from a satellite over the northernmost continent began to play. It quickly switched to thermal vision, given that a snow storm was raging over the area the satellite was focused on. However, what she saw angered and shocked her. She watched as armed, the thermal picking up some heat from what looked like gun barrels, humanoid figures patrolled a compound. In what she assumed was one of the residential buildings, several humanoid figures were huddled together for what she assumed was warmth. The building itself was as cold as the ground and snow around it. Several buildings were like this. She watched as some of the armed figures went into one of the buildings and forced the inhabitants to march outside in the freezing cold. They were sheparded to another corner of the facility where Cassandra's anger grew at seeing a few bodies hacking away at what looked like rock. One of the bodies slowed down, only to receive a punch from the armed figures. That sent the body tumbling to the snow, where two of the figures grabbed it and hauled it behind a building before she watched them execute it. She couldn't stand to watch this anymore and shut the video feed off.

"Change of plans, Shipmaster. I want you to ready an attack force. Redoubtable, I believe you were given a complement of ODSTs and Drop Pods. Aimee will send you the coordinates, head there as quickly as possible before deploying a squad near that position. Once they secure an LZ, mark it so the Sangheili can land their forces and so we can land heavier ordnance," Cassandra ordered before turning to the command crew, "You all saw what I did. Whatever's happening down there, it's breaching several humane rights laws and after that execution I believe we need to administer justice to these people. I want five marine squadrons prepped alongside two Grizzlies and three Scorpions. We don't know what defences there are, but they shouldn't be a match for UNSC armor. Get moving!" Cassandra barked out as she looked at the planet with narrowed eyes. The fact that such acts were allowed to be committed gave her a new purpose. While she had been willing to subject the crew to cryo sleep and wait for rescue or repairs, now she had to act.

It took an hour or so for the Redoubtable to get into position with the Unflinching Resolve. "ODSTs are prepped for launch, standby. And they are away," Cassandra watched as the live feed on the leading ODST began to broadcast.

"Systems functioning normally, squad sound off." A chorus of voices was heard through the video as the team sounded off.

"Breaking atmosphere, chutes deploying." A rough metallic grinding was heard as the chutes of the pods deployed.

 **High Remnant Orbit (HRO), T-Minus 5 Minutes to Touchdown**

"Helljumpers, how do we fall?" Captain Fujita asked after the chutes deployed.

"Feet first into hell, sir!" His squad replied and he smiled at that.

"Damn straight helljumpers!" Fujita looked at the trajectory, noticing that the ground was beginning to appear at the bottom of his pod. He looked up, noticing that his team was right on his tail. ' _Gotta follow protocol after all.'_ He thought before the braking rockets engaged, dimly aware of the AI in his pod notifying him that the braking rockets were engaged for the rest of the squad. "Remember helljumpers, secure an LZ so we can get some bigger guns on the ground as well as some boots. " The pod was beginning to look like meteor as the flames licked the outside of the window of the pod. "And remember, don't shoot the aliens. They're our allies now."

"Understood sir!"

"Brace for impact, t-minus ten seconds!" The ground was rushing up now but the AI confirmed that no rockets had failed and that they were going to impact at a safe enough speed. Bit jarring though. His pod slammed into the ground, kicking up snow and dirt around each pod. Fujita shook his head, clearing the momentary disorientation from his head before primed the explosive bolts before bracing himself as the hatch ejected outwards, landing several feet away. He unstrapped from the pod, stripping it of its gear while the rest of his squad landed nearby. He hefted his M7S, aiming it to make sure the iron sight wasn't damaged. He gave the rest of the gun the once over before loading it and cycling a bullet into the chamber. Leaving it in his right hand, he reached for the only thing left in the pod. His precious M6C. He checked the pistol for any damage before slotting into the holster on the side of his leg. He made sure his combat harness hadn't been damaged and that all the equipment was on his body somewhere as he called out "All right, Helljumpers! Regroup on me!"

"Sir, all Helljumpers accounted for." Sergeant Hammond reported as Fujita took stock of the ODSTs around him. Their black armor stuck out in the pure white snow but they weren't on an infiltration mission.

"Good job, Sergeant. Spread out and get three sixty security running. I'll notify Command that we've secured the LZ." Fujita stepped towards the clearing in the center of the pods as he started his comm gear up. "Jackal to Eternity, insertion completed. No resistance, activating beacon now." He pulled a cylinder from his chest piece to his face, inputting the designated passcode before dropping it into the snow where the light at the top began to blink. He turned around to link up with Hammond when gunfire was heard from the western flank.

"Captain, we've got hostiles! Basic mechs, unknown make and model. Using basic assault rifles. They hit Derrick sir, we're moving him back to treat him! Need reinforcements asap, more are coming up." Corporal Daniels shouted in his ear as Fujita growled.

"Jackal to Eternity, LZ is hot. I repeat LZ is hot. We're taking fire from an unknown enemy and need support asap." Fujita immediately broke into a sprint as he made his way to reinforce his men. Upon sighting the mechs, he rose an eyebrow. Humanoid combat droids. The UNSC never put much stock into replacing its human personnel with combat droids. Too finicky and risky. A single virus or hack could shut them down or turn them against their allies. As he reached the western flank, he took cover behind a rock, noting that the droids were fighting an uphill battle to get to them. He switched to his pistol, knowing his SMG wouldn't be effective at the range they were fighting at. He leaned out from cover, taking aim and firing at the closest bot's neck knowing that it should have better armor in the head and chest. The first shot landed then the next until the droid's head separated from the body after the damage to its neck. He soon realized that these droids didn't have shielding systems. A groan and thud beside him caused him to duck back behind cover and he realized that Daniels was hit. He was on the ground, clutching his right shoulder which was bleeding profusely.

"Damn it, they got me Cap." Daniels wheezed out, trying to focus on blocking out the pain.

"Medic! Get Daniels back, I'll hold them off with whoever's left here. Droids aren't too accurate but find Sergeant Hammond and tell him to get me an ETA on reinforcements. Go go go!" The medic quickly slung Daniels's arm over his shoulder before quickly retreating from the flank. He picked up Daniels's discarded BR55 and quickly began to return fire at the droids. Two wounded ODSTs and these droids wouldn't stop coming. He knew it was as bad as he imagined it would be. He took careful aim, making sure to unload the bursts into the droids' heads as he knew that the BR55 should be able to penetrate the armor of these droids if it shredded Sangheili armor. "Damn it, I'm not losing ODSTs to a bunch of combat droids, fall back! Defend the LZ." He called out as he began to run out of ammo. "And don't abandon any of your gear! Move it!" He quickly slung the battle rifle onto his back before pulling a grenade from his belt and pulling the pin. He tossed it over the rock blindly before making a run for the pods. He used the burst feature of the pod to get it onto its side and he watched as several other ODSTs followed his lead. He gestured to a nearby ODST to the battle rifle on is back and a clip was tossed in his direction as a result. He quickly switched to the battle rifle and ejected the old clip before inserting the new one. He quickly began to return fire, hoping that support would come soon.

 **Low Remnant Orbit, 200 Meters from LZ.**

"Marines, stand to attention! LZ is a hot one! Helljumpers dove into hell and found the demons waiting for em'! Now, we've been entitled as angels boys and girls. Green and angry angels! Let's strike Hell with hot lead and explosives!" Sergeant Holliday told his squad who roared in approval.

"Sergeant, beginning final descent. Dropping cargo first then landing. Wait one. Cargo away. Landing," The thud and shaking from the Pelican signified their landing on the planet. The door opened to gunfire but they were greeted by a Scorpion aiming into the cargo hold. A Sun-Devil variant where the cannon was replaced by two twin-linked 40mm autocannons.

"Shake a leg, marines! Perez, get that Devil to the front! Move!" Holliday barked out as he was the first out of the Pelican, jumping onto the snow with a soft crunch. He heard the Sun Devil purr to life and overtake him. He weaved through the pods with his squad, listening to the thunder of the Sun Devil's autocannons. They eventually arrived at the ODSTs and they were just in time. Fujita was injured but still fighting with a few remaining ODSTs. Quite a few however, were laying motionless as the snow beneath them was stained with blood.

"Damn good time to show up marines. Give us a hand will ya? The horde's thinning out. Must've been a garrison at that mine we were assigned to take out," Fujita spit some blood out and levelled his pistol with the droids and began to fire again. The marines took position at the barricade as the Sun Devil repositioned itself farther down the right flank. The horde was thinning, they could see an end but there was still far too much in front of them.

"Where the hell are the Sangheili?!" Holliday yelled to a sergeant in her squad who relayed the question to the Eternity.

"Ma'am, they said look up!" The sergeant replied and Holliday did so, smiling at the sight. Three Phantoms uncloaked, their red armor plating shining in the sun, before they opened up the side doors and Sangheili dropped from Phantoms. Once they were unloaded, the Phantoms began to unload plasma shots into the droids as the Sangheili did the same. Holliday's vision began to tunnel as she focused on taking down the droids. The Sangheili were once again proving their usefulness as the plasma easily cut through the metal droids without much fuss. Soon, it was just slag heaps when the rest of the Pelicans and another two Phantoms dropped off more reinforcements. The ODSTs were extracted via Pelican, all of them. They took a few losses but overall, it could be counted as a victory.

"Eternity to Reaper, come in Reaper." A voice sounded over the radio as Holliday responded.

"Reaper to Eternity, we've secured the LZ. ODSTs took a beating though and are enroute to the Redoubtable for medical care and to ID their fatalities." Holliday reported before looking over at the destroyed droids. "Eternity, I'm sending cargo up to you. Combat droids, gonna send quite a few for the spooks to look at. AI seems primitive but their weapons seem supercharged."

"Understood, Reaper. Sending down an Albatross to pick up the droids. Assume that the element of surprise is lost, so march on that mine and free the civvies. Anyone armed is to be treated as a hostile unless they surrender immediately. Captain Westfield, despite our protests, is leading your extraction. So, make haste and don't disappoint the Captain." Holliday snorted before turning to his squad. His eyes quickly looked over the assembled force before coughing to gain everyone's attention.

"All right, we've made sure the Helljumpers get a break, but now it's our turn. You there, Elite, any specific orders or am I free to assign some?" Holliday raised an eyebrow at the Major standing off to the side.

"None, human, the Shipmaster was clear that we are to listen to the highest ranking human on the ground. Seeing as how your Captain, the imp, is on his way back up. I believe that means you are the highest ranking human till Captain Westfield hits the ground." The Major responded, eyeing Holliday up.

"Very well, your Elites look like Special Ops. Equipped with camo tech?" The Major nodded and Holliday continued, "All right, infiltrate the mine if you can and take out most of the perimeter defences and sentries. Then signal us. Once we have their attention, pick them off and beginning heading into the mine. End anyone who stands against you."

"Simple instructions, human. We shall see that it is done," The Major bowed his head in acknowledgement before they slowly disappeared from sight. The light and soft crunching grew fainter and fainter until it was gone.

"All right, marines, gather round! We've got a rescue op to get to and we cannot afford a fuck up, understood? ID your targets and practice trigger discipline at all times. Don't disappoint me or the Captain; especially me. I will make your life more hell than it already is. Get me, marines?" The general roar of approval was enough for Holliday, "Delta, get explosives on those pods. Epsilon, prep some of the droids for extract via Albatross! The rest of you, saddle up and get yourselves warmed up! Hell's splitting open and we'll soon find its wrath upon us! Delta and Epsilon, RV at the mine when you're done here. Hopefully, there's some action left for ya. Marines, move out!" Holliday climbed onto the side of the Sun Devil and settled in for the ride, listening to the general chatter around him as the 1st Marine Platoon kicked up snow behind them in their advance.


	4. Righteous Justice

**Chapter 4: Righteous Justice**

 **50 Meters Outside of Schnee Mine A21**

"Quickly, brothers, gather to me before we launch the assault on that mine there." Major Lykan 'Remanee's voice whispered into the Elites' ears as their HUD updated with a waypoint on the Major's location. They swiftly made their way over, crouching low beside the Major who was surveying the mine once more.

"What is the situation, Major?" A minor asked as the rest of the Elites looked to the Major for orders.

"Guarded, but not heavily so. Five guard towers, one at each intersection of the perimeter fence. At least two guards manning it. Several more of those metal husks masquerading as combat droids patrolling alongside human guards. Armory near the entrance to the mine and a command building in the center. The other buildings may be residences. No matter, Remember what the human said, end anyone who stands against us. For Sanghelios, brothers."

"For Sanghelios." The response was quick and faded away as the winds began to howl once more as the crunching of snow faded into the background.

 **Guard Tower B, Schnee Mine A21, 7:55 PM**

"Damn storm's picking up again. Coby? How's it looking inside the mine?" A guard, dressed in the latest Atlesian armor with the Schnee logo on the back, rubbed his gloved hands together as he looked at his partner. He turned only hearing the sound of something igniting before darkness overtook him.

"Animals are still working the mine but with the storm picking up, I'm barely able to see out here. Nick, how's it looking out there? Nick?" Coby turned around to a horrifying sight. Nick, a fresh recruit that got transferred here after being hired, was suspended in the air by a blade of light. That wasn't what scared him, however. It was the being that held him in the air. Nick looked at Coby, gurgling as blood began to seep from his mouth before the being gripped Nick by the neck and tugged. The sword sliced cleanly through him causing his organs to show themselves as the being dropped the remains of the guard onto the floor of the tower. Coby, in shock, barely registered that the being was advancing on him when the sword had glanced off his aura shield which depleted quickly. He finally snapped out of it and tried to run when he felt a burning heat in his chest and above his stomach. He looked down, seeing the same blade of light that had taken Nick's life. His head turned towards the being, the alien whose eyes seemed void of remorse. They even seemed proud. The split-jawed being was proud of killing them and Coby's eyes swept to Tower C, only a few meters away from them and saw a pair of beings ripping apart the guards there. He chuckled, swinging weakly at the being behind him as he tried to put up some semblance of resistance. Soon, darkness overtook him and he knew no more.

 **Guard Tower C, Schnee Mine A21, 8:00 PM**

Major Remanee tossed the human into the interior of the tower without a second glance back before looking around the immediate area. The other towers were cleared or in the process of being cleared. His eyes looked to the ground where the patrols were being mopped up, the storm silencing their actions.

"Ma-or, Pla-on in pos-ion. Ready on yo-r ma-k," A jumbled voice communicated through to Remanee who snorted before looking at the Sangheili that infiltrated with him.

"The humans are in position, gather our brothers and set that armory ablaze," He pointed to the armory building.

"And you, Major?" The minor asked, wondering what the Major was going to do.

"Cut the head off the snake," The Major gestured to the two story building that they had assumed was the command building. "Quickly, we're wasting time and I'd rather not risk alerting whoever these humans are to our activities." The minor darted off after reactivating his cloaking and the Major did the same.

 **25 Meters Outside of Schnee Mine A21, 8:25 PM**

"Where the hell are those Elites, I'm freezing my ass off here," A private complained near Holliday who snorted as he watched the mine through a pair of infrared binoculars.

"Can it, Private. They're kicking a hell of a lot of ass and a single alarm hasn't been tripped. Maybe they'll signal after they finish killing everyone. Stea-" Holliday retorted before a loud explosion drew their attention to the base. A building near the center, right next to a two story building that had snowflake logos and what looked to be communications equipment, had gone up in flames. "That's the signal. Move it, Marines! GO!" Holliday ordered through the comms as he hammered the Sun Devil's turret armor with his hand as it lurched forward. He looked to his left and right, watching as the other Scorpions began to their assault with Marines coming up the rear. The Scorpions took aim at the towers, not knowing they were already cleared, and fired which caused an explosion that tore apart the top of the towers.

"Jesus, Sarge. Remind me to never piss off the Elites." Holliday hopped down from the Sun Devil which began to enter the compound and took up a defensive position at the front gate. He looked to his right where Corporal Wilkins was inspecting a dead patrol. The droids were thoroughly destroyed, the metal melted and the internal circuitry completely fried. The work of energy swords. However, the damage to human targets was similar. The wounds were carturized but that meant nothing when the human wasn't even in one piece. The Elites were brutal, but they were efficient.

"Wilkins, come with me. Let's see if the command building is still up. Roediger, take Alpha squad together and check the remaining buildings for workers. Give them medical attention if they need it. Otherwise, escort them to the center where the Pelicans have room to land. Stephens! Get Bravo and sweep the mines. Remember, ID your targets. Perez, keep me updated on Delta and Epsilon especially if they've returned."

"Will do, boss. However, storm's been messing with comms. I'll send a runner if something's changed," Perez answered, his head sticking out of the driver's seat of the tank.

"Wilkins, come on." Holliday began to lightly jog with Wilkins right on his heels. He stopped and held ups his hand to stop Wilkins. He brought his MA5D up and Wilkins followed suit with his own. He slowly walked up to the front doors that were slightly ajar and listened to the screams of horror and the telltale sound of an energy sword swinging through the air. He gestured to Wilkins to stack up on the door and pulled out a flashbang. Wilkins, seemingly got the message, put a hand against the door. Holliday began to mouth the numbers and pulled the pin when he got to three. Wilkins pushed the door as hard as he could and returned to cover as Holliday tossed it in. They waited until the flashbang went off then breached. However, they were met with a sight of carnage. Bodies were thrown up against walls or laid scattered in pieces on the hallway floor. They checked each room, finding a similar scene in each one before deciding to let the Sangheili deal with the remainder of the forces on the upper floor. They made their way back to the entrance before the scream of a person and glass breaking sounded above and in front of them. They stopped, watching as a body impacted with the ground, injured but alive. He struggled but they could tell his arms weren't functioning properly. One leg was twisted at an odd angle but otherwise, he seemed uninjured. The two Marines approached the struggling man before they spun around when a thud sounded behind the,

"At ease, humans. It is just me. That there is the commander of this compound. I secured him alive for your...tender mercies." The Major explained as Wilkins and Holliday nodded at each other. "Now, I shall go and gather my brothers for extraction. Our mission is done here." With that, the Major walked past them towards the entrance of the complex.

"Shall I do the honors, or you sir?" Wilkins asked, gesturing to the struggling commander. Holliday answered by slamming the butt of his rifle onto the commander's head. Or tried to at least. The blow was momentarily glanced off which irritated Holliday who repeated the action which connected this time. "Secure him, I'm going to see how the rest of the platoon is doing. After he is secured, rig the place to blow." Wilkins looked down at the injured man and sighed knowing that secure him meant dragging him to the extraction point in the center and making sure he didn't escape. As Wilkins went to work, Holliday made his way back to the Sun Devil and Perez.

"Sarge, Epsilon and Delta arrived a few minutes ago. Extracted the droids and destroyed the pods. However, Corporal Solomon told me to get you to go to the extract point. Said that he had something to show you." Perez informed him, puffing out some smoke from the cigarette in his between his fingers.

"All right, I'll head over there and snuff that smoke. That stuff'll kill you faster than the Covenant could."

"Didn't think you heard boss, war's over. Covenant remnants are up but nothing we can't handle. And besides, it's freezing cold and this smoke is bringing me some warmth."

"That could be hypothermia. Ah, I can't waste time arguing with you. Just make sure that smoke is out before I get back, understood?"

"Crystal, sir!" Perez answered back and Holliday rolled his eyes before making his way to the center of the compound. There he saw a bunch of workers, who looked underfed and some were close to death. Medics were treating the wounded and he watched as the Marines had some prisoners sectioned off from the rest. Before he could get to the civilians, a hand stopped him. He followed the arm and saw that it belonged to Corporal Solomon.

"Corporal, Perez said you wanted to see me?" Holliday asked.

"Yeah, sarge. Just a word of warning. The civvies aren't exactly normal...So don't freak when you see them. All right?" Solomon's voice had a bit of warning in it.

"Understood, corporal. But, why the warning exactly? They're human, aren't they?" Holliday asked, unsure of why he was being warned to not freak out.

"Not exactly...You'll see." Solomon said before he gestured for Holliday to check it out himself. Holliday, thoroughly confused, made his way to the civilians and kneeled next to a lone child who looked around scared and flinched away from him. Holliday gave the child and soft smile in an attempt to placate the child.

"Hey there. You look scared, want me to help you find your parents?" Holliday held out a hand which the child looked at with distrust and fear. "Come on, I won't bite." He looked the child over, gritting his teeth at the state of the attire they wore. It looked like a bunch of sacks were repurposed as clothing. The child wore a makeshift beanie, which was also made out of a straw material used for sacks. After his looking over of the child, he watched as the kid hesitantly took his hand. He stood up, gripping the child's hand tightly as he led him around. All the workers were wearing similar attire from what he saw. His search for the kid's parents finally turned up results as a couple rushed forward after seeing the kid who jumped into their arms.

"Oh, Mari, thank goodness. Your father and I thought you were dead! Where did you go?" The mother asked, scolding the child.

"Mama, Papa, they took the kids to a different part of the mine earlier. Told us to crawl through a small space and mine. The nice people saved us from there and this nice person held me find you!" The child's feminine voice responded. She looked back to the man who helped her find her parents. "Thank you, sir!" She dropped into a small bow, which caused her beanie to fall off as it had been displaced earlier from her jumping into her parents' arms. What was sitting on her head surprised Holliday. A pair of fox ears twitched on the top of her head and he was shocked before replying with the usual 'you're welcome'. He looked around, noticing that some of the other civilians also had animal features as some sported tails or ears that weren't human in origin. Yet, they looked like normal humans. He shook his head, slapping his cheeks. Even if they had some extra appendages, they were still human. He made his rounds, checking in with every group to make sure they were doing well enough before he heard the telltale sounds of Pelicans and Albatrosses. He looked up, seeing the thrusters of the Albatrosses as the Pelicans circled around to provide security.

"Clear the way, Albatrosses landing! Marines, get the civvies up and ready for transport! Wilkins, are we done with the demo work?" Holliday hollered out as the Marines carried out his orders as they got the civilians or the prisoners up. The first Albatross landed and opened up the cargo bay where Captain Westfield, in a winter uniform, stepped out and looked around. The Marines immediately saluted her.

"Sergeant Holliday, are they ready for extraction?" She directed the question towards him with a quirked eyebrow.

"Yes, ma'am! Platoon's ready to warm themselves up on the Eternity!"

"Very well, Staff Sergeant Holliday. Get them loaded up while I make sure the Pelicans don't leave our armor behind." Westfield stated, her azure eyes piercing into Holliday's who just realized he had just been promoted. ' _I mean, it's pretty hard to get a promotion review by the committee if they're stranded this far away from it_ ' He thought before barking out orders again.

"You heard the Captain, get them on the Albatrosses, quick! And Wilkins! Did you get those charges planted?!" An affirmative was heard in the crowd as the Marines followed his orders, shepherding the workers onto the first albatross. Once it was a max capacity, it took off and headed for the Eternity while another took its place. It took four Albatrosses at max capacity to extract the workforce and another to extract the prisoners with Marine escort. "All right! Civvies and prisoners were extracted! Let's shake a leg to the front entrance where our extract is waiting!" He lightly jogged, hearing the marines following his lead. They arrived to landed Pelicans as the crew tried to secure the Scorpions to the Pelicans.

"Yo, boss! Over here!" Perez's voice drew Holliday to a Pelican holding his Sun Devil, "Damn, almost thought we'd have to leave you behind. Such a shame, am I right?"

"Eh, shut it Perez. Scooch over." Holliday snipped, tired from the events of the day. Wilkins hopped in as well right afterwards.

"Everyone's loaded, Sarge. Ready to level the place?" Wilkins asked, holding a detonator out to took it. "Hey, pilot! Don't shut the door right away, I wanna see the fireworks first."

"Understood, you got five minutes." The pilot responded as Holliday heard the other Pelicans getting ready to dust off. Soon, he heard the other ones take off as the one he was riding in gave a lurch and began to gain altitude. He counted down and watched the mine below when he pressed the detonator switch. At first, nothing went off then it was a cascade of explosions starting from the outside fences and mine to the center of the compound. Holliday whistled and high fived Wilkins who laughed. The two of them talked about what they had just witnessed as the Pelican's door closed as it prepared to leave the atmosphere behind.

 **Schnee Manor, Atlas**

Jacques Schnee was not happy. He was furious. He had just received word that one of the mines on Solitas had been raided and levelled. ' _Those damn animals managed to escape my grasp. Bah, what kind of incompetent help do I hire that they can't even take care of a few mangy mutts playing terrorist. And the destruction of that mine was so thorough that I can't possibly hope to reopen it in the future. Damn it, I'm going to have to raise security at the rest of the mines on Solitas and maybe a few of the bigger ones on Anima. I wonder if James could allow me to use some of his bigger mechs to guard my mines.'_ These thoughts swirled in Jacques's head as he pondered how to secure his empire. The faunus were expendable work but the White Fang were beginning to become an unbearable thorn in his side. While shipment raids were costly, Jacques could recover from those. Hell, even the fact that they murdered Schnees didn't bother him as much. It eliminated his competition and as long as they didn't touch his heirs, he could care less. No, it was something like they had pulled today that he couldn't recover from fully. The lost of an entire mine was too costly. Had he been able to reopen it, maybe Jacques wouldn't have been so angry. But those mutts blew up the caves in the process of levelling the rest of the facility. Jacques pondered his next move, not knowing that it wasn't the White Fang who had orchestrated such an assault.

 _ **UNSC Eternity**_ **, Lunar Orbit**

The Pelicans landed in one of the hangar bays and offloaded their cargo as the crew and passengers disembarked. They made their way to their quarters to rest and relax as the day had been long. The Albatrosses landed in another bay and offloaded their cargo. Captain Westfield, having made her way over quickly, was there to greet them with the head doctor of the Eternity.

"Welcome aboard the UNSC Eternity, please follow Doctor Nachinda here to the medical bay where you'll be treated for your injuries. Marines, take the prisoners to the brig." Captain Westfield ordered, beginning to notice the animal features of some of the civilians. "Doctor Nachinda, a word?" She pulled the doctor ahead of the group to talk to her.

"Yes, captain?"

"I want you to discover exactly what they are, I'm sure you noticed that they have some extra...appendages on them." Westfield asked, wondering what exactly she was getting into.

"Of course, I shall update Aimee with the results as soon as I can," The doctor replied before going back to the group and leading them towards the medical bay. Cassandra sighed and rubbed her eyes. First, they arrived at some random planet in god knows where. The UNSC aren't in contacting range. To top it off, people here have animal features! ' _Oh, what the hell did I agree to.'_ She sighed again as she made her way to the bridge to get an operation debrief.


	5. Of Aura and Faunus

**Chapter 5: Of Aura and Faunus**

 **Long A/N at the end of the chapter, it has a purpose though.**

"Aimee, did the officers and NCOs give their after action report?" Cassandra slipped into a seat near the holotable as Aimee appeared on the table.

"Yes, ma'am. Projecting reports now. Would you like me to see if the Sangheili have after action reports as well?"

"Yes, please do." She said offhandedly as she began to read through the reports. Captain Fujita's report was simple. They made landfall about ten minutes after being dropped from the Redoubtable. Established a security line and awaited reinforcements. Engagement with hostile droid forces occurred almost immediately after the beacon was activated. Lasted the better half of an hour before reinforcements were able to land and relieve the ODSTs. Total losses were fifteen. Seven in various states of injury and eight were KIA. The dead were given their final rites before they were cremated and stored away. Home was too far away to even think about getting them back there for proper burials. The fact that the slipspace drive was still inoperable despite the engineers, both alien and human, working non-stop convinced the ODSTs and the command staff to not store them in a cryopod. No point diverting energy and effort if it'll be futile in the end.

Staff Sergeant Holliday's was a bit more complicated. After relieving the ODSTs, the Sangheili were tasked with infiltrating and disabling the base defences. The Marines quickly took positions outside of the mine and waited for a signal. That signal was in the form of an explosion that tore apart the armory. Perimeter defences were down already when the Marines marched into the mine. They secured the civilians and several dazed guards as well as the commander of the whole operation who was still suffering from his debilitating injuries. However, Holliday did remark on the animal features of the civilians asking the Captain to investigate and find an explanation to it. She snorted and closed the reports as Aimee projected a new one, this time from the Sangheili.

Major Lykan 'Remanee's report was an invaluable source of information. Their infiltration of the base went without a hitch. All hostile defences were eliminated within half an hour. The Major cleared out the command building and captured the commander, putting him in the disabled state he was in at the moment. The guards were regular humans according to the Major's report. The mine was lightly defended and the Elites were able to kill the guards that put up a resistance. Not surprisingly, no casualties. However, what caught her attention was that these humans and the animal ones had some sort of natural shielding. A stray plasma shot had hit one of the workers in a residential building. Elites went to check and found the worker unconscious and bruised but alive. It surprised them as the worker was wearing nothing but rags. They also reported that the guards had shielding as well. Standard shielding as the energy sword cut through it rather easily but the commander took an extra swing before the Major resorted to using good old physics and brute force to break his arms and leg after deeming him an important asset. "Aimee, notify Doctor Nachinda about this shielding phenomenon. And warn her about my arrival. I'm going to check in on the civilians." She stood up from the table and suppressed a yawn. ' _Sleep later, first find out what the hell is going on._ ' She made her way through the gray halls with a purpose and determination that some of the crew had yet to see from the young woman.

 **Medical Bay, UNSC Eternity, 20 Minutes Later**

"Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to remain in the bed. Please?" Carol Nachinda asked as another of the civilians tried to get out of bed during the middle of a checkup. She sighed and tucked a strand of her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear and removed her glasses. She rubbed her eyes and put her glasses back on before glaring at the civilian, her hazel eyes alight with irritation. "Will you let me make sure you are okay or should I give you some anesthetics?" The civilian's eyes widened as she immediately laid back down and waited, watching the doctor with fear. "Thank you." Nachinda continued her check up as her eyes scanned the rest of the medical bay. She internally groaned, seeing as the medical staff was almost all deployed and this wing of the medical bay was almost full. She hoped that the captain didn't decide to save more people because her staff was prepared for battle casualties which usually numbered in the low fifties at best. Her staff, however, was not prepared for the two hundred civilians with injuries spanning from minor colds to broken bones. Their animal features, were apparently genetic. Faunus was the name given to these people.

"Doctor Nachinda? Captain Westfield is on her way here for a report and to check in on the civilians." Aimee said, appearing on the nearby holotank.

"Oh my god, what is that?" The faunus on the bed asked.

"AI designation AME 2345-15, Aimee at your service! I'm the one making sure the ship runs normally." Aimee chirped.

"AI? So like the droids that kept guard at the mine?" The faunus asked who flinched away from the withering glare from Aimee.

"I am not some cheap droid! I am an advanced Artificial Intelligence, thank you very much!" Aimee humphed and fizzled away as Nachinda chuckled.

"Yeah, bad choice of words there. Never really found out who created her but whoever did so must've had quite the time inputting her emotional matrix. Aimee is the most expressive AI that I've ever dealt with." Nachinda explained to the faunus who just looked lost at what happened.

"Ahem, Doctor?" A familiar voice said behind her as Nachinda turned to face Captain Westfield. "A word?" Nachinda nodded as she followed the captain to an empty portion of the bay where Aimee fizzled into existence on the nearby holotank with an irritated look and her arms crossed. Cassandra looked at Carol with a quirked eyebrow and the doctor just chuckled.

"I'm not a droid...Stupid person-animal thing…" They heard Aimee mumbled and both surprised their laughter at that. "It's not funny!" Aimee had noticed that they were trying not to laugh at her expense.

"Sorry Aimee. Anyways, doc, what can you report?" Cassandra asked and Aimee perked up at the possibility of new data to analyze.

"The civilians are a genetic cousin to the humans. I say cousins because our genetic makeup is essentially the same except for the genotype. That genotype, which we are referring to as the Fauna Genotype, is a gene that causes a mutation in a human where they inherit some sort of animal like quality and appearance. Appearance wise, it's limited to the growing of ears or tails. Quality wise, they report to have near perfect night vision on their own and heightened hearing. Some have chameleon traits and are able to match their surroundings almost perfectly. Various other traits that I can list or just give them to Aimee for you to peruse at your leisure." Nachinda asked as Cassandra gestured to Aimee who looked giddy at all the new information she was about to get. "They're called Faunus, Captain. They're treated as third class citizens while humans are first and second class citizens. Perpetrators of the mine is a company called Schnee Dust. I'll leave Aimee an explanation on what Dust is. It isn't your everyday normal dust."

"And their shielding capabilities?"

"Something called Aura. You might want to ask some of the faunus to explain it to you. I'm still coming to grips with it myself." Carol waved Cassandra over to the various civilians lying around the medical bay. Cassandra sighed as she made her way through the medical bay, looking for someone that seemed to be somewhat aware of their surroundings and not surrounded by doctors. Many looked around and saw the dazed wonder as they looked around the medical bay. Fear, apprehension, and curiosity was present on most of their faces. Yet, she had to internally smile at the final few emotions that showed themselves. Relief and joy. Some of the civilians were clutching the medical staff, crying out of relief or joy. Nobody knew and nobody really cared. She finally saw one near the middle of the bay. A young man with ram horns protruding from his head looked around, his eyes were calculating as he looked around.

Cassandra approached him and he turned to observe her. Something in her had to take a momentary stop as the man, who looked to be around her age, held her still with piercing gray eyes. She blinked once, twice, three times before she finally began to move again. She stopped by his bed and decided to ask, "Excuse me sir, I am Captain Westfield of the UNSC Eternity. May I ask your name?" The man continued to analyze her before he nodded his head and a soothing voice came out of his mouth.

"Lazu Storm, may I ask where exactly we are? I can feel my aura but the dust I keep inside my clothes to keep me warm seems inert."

"Ah, you are currently in lunar orbit around your planet. I've been hearing about this Aura from quite a few people. Can you explain it to me?" Cassandra asked softly as Lazu seemed confused.

"Lunar orbit…? As in we're not on Remnant? We're in space?" He asked, the curiosity in his voice prevalent over anything else.

"Of course, now can you explain to me this idea of an Aura?" Cassandra asked, a bit more forcefully this time.

"Uh, yeah. Sure. Wait, you don't know what an Aura is?" He asked, skeptical at the fact that this human didn't know about Aura.

"I wouldn't be asking if I did." She replied, her voice conveying the annoyance she was beginning to feel.

"Sorry, it's just odd to see that a human doesn't know what an Aura is. The simplest way to put it is that it is the manifestation of the soul. It can grants protection from damage and even speeds up the natural healing process if their reserves aren't all used up. Is it making any sense so far?" Lazu asked, making sure the captain was understanding so far.

"Mystically? Yes, it makes sense. Scientifically? It sounds like you're a crazy person trying to explain shielding technology. But seeing as how a faunus in rags was able to survive a plasma shot, I'll give the benefit of the doubt. Anything else big tied to Aura?" Cassandra asked, needing to look over the data that Aimee got from Nachinda.

"Yes, semblances require Aura. And by the confused look on your face, you don't know a thing about semblances either. Semblances are powers unique to each person. Most people can go their whole lives without finding out what their semblance is. Families tend to inherit similar semblances from each other. However, I can't really tell you much about that. None of the others with me at the mine had found their semblances and the guards never really showed theirs if they had it," Lazu explained with a yawn.

"Thank you, Mr Storm, for the explanation. May I suggest you rest as you have been through a tiring ordeal. Rest assured that you are in good hands now." Captain Westfield told the faunus softly who snorted.

"Schnee said the same thing after we were hired from Mantle. 'Trying times are behind you now that you have entered Atlas and the employ of the Schnee Dust Company. Rest assured, you and your families are in good hands.' Thanks though, I feel like you wouldn't kill or capture of bunch of Schnee's men just to send us back. So, like you said earlier, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt." Lazu said with a tired smirk before he laid back down and closed his eyes. Westfield bristled at the words she heard, realizing that this was one minor victory in face of a larger fight. She turned and strode from the medical bay, leaving Lazu Storm and the other faunus to the medical staff.

 **Bridge of the Eternity, 20 Minutes Later**

"Gather round, ladies and gentlemen. Aimee has been given vital data that might help us in conducting more ground operations in the future. You have the floor Aimee." Westfield said as the bridge crew gathered around the holotable where Aimee stood, looking anxious and nervous. ' _I have to say, whoever did Aimee's emotional matrix did an amazing job.'_ Westfield mused in her mind before Aimee began.

"All right, let's begin with the most basic item on the agenda as I know that Captain Westfield has told you about Aura. Dust is the lifeblood of this planet. It is a naturally occurring resource that comes from the ground. It's natural state is a crystallized form of various colors to depict different elements. The document in front of you details them but for those unable to see the document. The most basic ones are Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water Dust crystals. Brown, white, red, and blue in color respectively. These dust crystals can be purified into a powder form which can then be processed and refined further for use as standard ammunition that is infused with elemental properties. It can be kept in its natural form and through slight refinement, it can be used as a fuel source. According to the faunus, Dust has been integrated into every aspect of life. However, it is apparently inert once it leaves the atmosphere. That would explain the lack of satellites and other spacecraft. Past dust, the faunus could only give small tidbits of information. The continent that we extracted them from goes by Solitas, it is under the governance of the Kingdom of Atlas. Again, not much help there. The prisoners were not as helpful, many of them were fresh hires. And they just repeated the same thing. Solitas and Atlas. Their commanding officer is still unconscious as the medical staff is trying to...put him back in enough working order that he doesn't faint from pain again." Aimee stopped and looked around, waiting for someone to ask a question. She sighed in relief as they slowly began to disperse and talk amongst themselves about the information.

"Good job Aimee. Has anything come through the comms yet?" Cassandra stepped up to the holotable and looked down at Aimee who nodded.

"A garbled message came through while I was talking to Doctor Nachinda. Something about Guardians and rogue AI." Aimee stood rigid as her eyes widened. Cassandra was about to ask what was wrong when someone yelled out the answer.

"Multiple slipspace ruptures have been detected, far side of the planet! Vessel count unknown and not responding on any known frequencies! Orders, ma'am?"

"Launch our frigates and have them investigate with the Redoubtable and Paris. I want the Eternity at heightened alert. Get everyone prepared to go to battlestations at a moment's notice. Aimee, you there?" Cassandra asked as Aimee shook her head, looking as if she was clearing her head of something. She looked around and sighed in relief before looking at the captain.

"Yeah, I'm here. Captain, shall I spin up the MAC guns?"

Cassandra looked out over the planet before her now. Aimee and Doctor Nachinda's reports were...worrying to say the least. She had already committed to this planet, and the people under her command have shed blood already. She turned back to Aimee, a fiery determination in her eyes as she told Aimee two words, "Without delay."

 **A/N (Warning, it's long but there is a purpose to it): Thank you guys for the wonderful reviews. I absolutely love you guys. Anyways, the purpose of this AN is just to explain some flaws that two guest reviewers, who I also love btw for pointing out some very obvious flaws. First off, thank you for saying you think the story is good. I live off those reviews. Now, as for how the ODSTs struggled with a bunch of mechs. They had numbers and the ODSTs aren't meant for long term engagements on their own despite what the games and media say. They're a special ops force that are mainly used to disrupt enemy lines and prepare the way for a larger force to take over. If they are used in regular combat, they're deployed en masse. Just to give you guys a bigger picture, every wave that was thrown at the ODSTs, who numbered at around 5-9 as per the normal squad size and they had at least two or so deployed, was about 80 or so AK-200s. The high number of them is due to the fact that they are on Atlas homefield. And come on, they fell like meteors. Someone had to have sent them to investigate. As for the amount of mechs in general, take the canon amount from RWBY and multiply it by around 50% more. Atlas seems to be run by a military-industrial complex. So I expected a lot more mechs and a lot more ships then the canon hints at and shows. ODSTs are amazing fighters. Don't get me wrong. But stack the odds too high and someone has to slip up. And also remember, the ODSTs are also still human. They have human reactions. Mechs don't and most of time, they don't even take cover just shoot until the hostiles are dead. So, shot after shot was beginning to wear them down. Basic UNSC forces will struggle against Huntsman and Huntresses. That's a given. They're superhuman and could only be matched by a Spartan who would win in straight one on one combat. However, I'll leave what happens with the Grimm in a later chapter. As for Winter's appearance, that's a surprise too~ Just saying though, she holds no real love for her father but she does love Atlas. And yes, UNSC bullets are made to rip through Covenant shielding. However, just to make sure that the story doesn't exactly end in around five more chapters, Aura is a bit more sturdier than normal shielding. Think of an overshield that is down to one more than the normal shield and you'll have the rough durability of Aura. Remnant's bullets have to pack a punch. Partly because I want to see this story go farther than five more chapters. But also because rogue huntsman and huntresses exist alongside very powerful Grimm. Those bullets have to be able to counteract someone's aura in one way or another. And they have to be able to at least scratch the armor of the more powerful Grimm. So, Spartans will lose their shielding at some point since shields take damage based on kinect force. However, actually taking damage to the armor is not going to happen. I mean, come on. However, I do have to say that the regular infantry forces and the ODSTs have to be fair game. Like, the UNSC can't be allowed to be too overpowered even though they are. Ruins the point of writing a story if it ends in a few chapters with no true conflict.**


	6. Eternal

**Chapter 6: Eternal**

 **AN: Don't worry about the Created. They're not going to make an appearance. Just using Halo 5 to give a reference to when this is taking place and a few other reasons. School's back in session so I won't be updating as frequently as I was during break. Expect an update next Friday, Saturday or Sunday as I have Chapter 7 halfway done.**

Cassandra watched through slitted eyes as the Eternity made its way around the planet, Remnant if she remembered Lazu's words properly. "Any word from the Redoubtable and Paris?"

"They're still moving into position to ID the vessels, ma'am. Wait, ma'am, we're getting an encrypted transmission. Tracing the origin...Ma'am, encrypted transmission originating from where the slipspace ruptures are occurring. Shall I patch it through?" A communications officer asked.

"Aimee, confirm the transmission and let it through." Cassandra turned to the AI who she was beginning to be her closest aide and friend. ' _God that's a sad thought.'_ Cassandra chuckled to herself at thinking that her closest friend and aide was an AI.

"Patching it through now." Aimee stepped towards the edge of the table as a voice rang through the bridge.

"This is CFV-201 _UNSC Dawn_ alongside several ships from Battlegroup Atlanta of the Fifth Fleet. Repeat, do not fire, this is the CFV-201 _UNSC Dawn_ alongside several ships from Battlegroup Atlanta." The message kept repeating as another communications officer spoke.

"Redoubtable and Paris are reporting in with our Stridents. One Phoenix-class colony ship alongside seven Stalwart-class frigates and five Halberd-class destroyers. None have any external damage according to the Stridents."

"Bring us towards them and get me in contact with whoever is in charge of those ships." Cassandra ordered as she looked to Aimee who looked back at her with a questioning look. "Aimee, keep any eye out for more slipspace ruptures. I have a feeling that message you received is the reason behind this." Aimee nodded and dissipated as she went to perform her duties.

"Ma'am, channels are open with the UNSC Dawn." A different officer relayed to her.

"Get their captain on the comms." Cassandra waited for their captain to respond.

"This is Commander Joseph Richards of the UNSC Dawn, who am I currently broadcasting to?"

"Captain Westfield of the UNSC Eternity."

"The Eternity? I thought that was still under construction?"

"No, it was completed alongside the Infinity but launched much earlier. ONI's secrets and all that."

"Of course it'd be ONI that manages to convince the entire navy we only have one of those supercarriers up. Anyways, where are we and are your slipspace drives working?"

"Currently in orbit around a planet called Remnant which is not on any known maps. And no, our slipspace drives are inoperable. Have been since we arrived." Cassandra replied, "How did you get here, Commander?"

"Emergency slipspace jumps after the Created were able to subjugate the Sol colonies," Richards explained. "Home Fleet went silent a few days ago. So far, stragglers of the Fifth and Sixth Fleet are arriving at Verent at the extremes of UEG space. Planet's been glassed and hasn't been resettled yet. So, it seemed like a low priority target for the Created. After we consolidated our assets, we set course for Harvest. We knew it would probably be under Created control but it was a stretch we were willing to make. Needed to know how far it's gone, you know? But instead of coming out over Harvest, we came out here."

"Commander, what year is it exactly? Last time I checked, the Home Fleet was mostly gone but it was still there. And send me a report on those Guardians." Cassandra asked, starting to wonder how much time has passed if it was the UEG not the UNSC in control.

"2558, Captain. And I'll get a team working on it." Richards replied.

"Chances that you'll be followed by these Guardians?"

"Next to none ma'am. Our slipspace vectors were directed for Harvest. Whatever caused us to come here should be a one off. I mean, thirteen ships all experiencing the same slipspace anomaly and still exiting with some precision? It is unheard of."

"Captain, I have found files relating to the UNSC Dawn. It is a modified Phoenix-class ship that was refitted in 2552 for a combat support role much like the UNSC Spirit of Fire." Aimee notified Cassandra whose eyes lit up.

"Commander Richards, are your ship's factories and Herons operation?" Cassandra asked, hoping for an affirmative.

"Yes, ma'am. We also have several Condors in the event that the Herons get destroyed or breakdown." Richards answered suspecting why the captain wanted to know.

"Very well, we're a long way from home. So far, we don't have a chance of returning home. Commander Richards, may I give tasking to your frigates and destroyers?" Cassandra asked as she wasn't completely used to commanding people yet.

"Of course, you can give them tasking captain. What about the Dawn?"

"Have your frigates hold in lunar orbit and at a heightened sense of alert. My Stridents, the Redoubtable, and the Paris will join them. They'll be keeping an eye out for more slipspace ruptures as well as act as the first line of defense. The Dawn will stay with the Eternity. I have a plan in the works." Cassandra leaned over the holotable as she looked at the scans for one of the larger continents. ' _Anima?_ _Interesting name for a continent. It also seems the most remote._ '

"Human, we've been listening in for a while and wish to inquire as to what the purpose of the Unflinching Resolve will be?" Shipmaster Vratum asked as the holotable began broadcasting his voice.

"Shipmaster, I'll brief you on your mission soon enough." Cassandra replied, "First, let me notify the Dawn about their part in the plan."

"Commander Richards, you're going to play a vital role in establishing a forward operating base on the planet down there. We've recently rescued some civilians working in less than hospitable conditions. I want an active presence on the ground that is ready to act at a moment's notice. Aimee will send you our data on the planet so far. I suggest the continent of Anima. It's one of the bigger landmasses and there seems to be open fields near some forests that we can use for deployment of the firebase. I think you can handle the rest." Cassandra explained and heard Commander Richards answer in the affirmative. She turned her attention to the Shipmaster who was waiting for tasking. "Shipmaster Vratum, I need the Unflinching Resolve to scout the system we are in. Find any worlds that require minimum terraforming to be turned into usable ones for either colonization or resources. I must also ask that a detachment of your special ops Elites be left with the Eternity as they proved themselves very valuable during the assault on the mine.

"Understood human, I will assign Major Remanee and his team to your ship. They are amongst my best, do not waste them." The Shipmaster also cut communications with the Eternity as they peeled away from the rest of the fleet. A Phantom made its way towards the Eternity from the Unflinching Resolve. It was welcomed into Hangar Bay 4. Cassandra sighed as she thought ' _I am in way over my head._ '

 **UNSC Dawn, Above Anima**

"George, have you analyzed the data that the Eternity has sent you?" Joseph Richards asked the smart AI attached to the Dawn.

"Yes sir, the data is astounding to say the least. I must say, this is one adventure to remember for the ages, hm?" George quipped in a British accent.

"George, do we have birds operational?" Richards asked as he surveyed the likely spot for the firebase. It was located towards the center of the continent. To its north was a river and to the east was a forest. The southern and western approaches were .

"Of course sir, I strive to make sure our air fleet is in top shape. Once the command of the air is obtained by one of the contending armies-"

"The war becomes a conflict between a seeing host and a blind host. You've said it several times in the past. Anyways, get a scout team ready to deploy at this location. Once they've considered it clear, I want the firebase ready to deploy. Make sure it is guarded heavily during transport and creation, we cannot allow it to be destroyed under any circumstances until we find a reliable stream of resources to replenish lost ones." Richards ordered as George saluted and disappeared. Richards was left staring at the data, which grew more bizarre the more he read.

 **Scout Team Frost, Anima**

"Let's make this quick. Something about this forest puts me on edge." Captain Laurens surveyed the forest from the back of the pelican. "Frost to Dawn, Frost to Dawn; is it possible to get some heavier armor on the ground as soon as touch down? Something in this forest is putting me on edge."

"Negative Frost, the armor's coming down with the base. However, I can reroute air support meant for the Herons." A voice crackled through.

"Damn it. Wave off on that air support. We're touching down now and will continue with the mission as planned."

"Copy, good luck Frost."

"All right, let's move marines." Captain Laurens was the first one out of the Pelican as he brought his MA5D to his shoulder and scanned the immediate area. "Spread out marines. Loyola, get that beacon up and running!"

"It's up!"

"Frost to Dawn, the beacon is up and the location is secure. We've got blips on the radar but they seem to be wildlife." Laurens reported, never noticing the pair of red eyes that watched the group as the sound of ambient fauna led him to believe it was all clear

"Roger that Frost, sending down the Herons."

That was when a black demon wolf pounced towards the closest marine. Luckily, for the marine, it pounced when the marine was facing it.

"SHIT, HELP ME!" The marine yelled as he emptied the clip into the soft underside of the giant black wolf. The rest of the squad turned and immediately began to lay into the beast. It didn't stand a chance against the combined firepower of six MA5Ds firing into it. The marine it had pounced on groaned as he tried to push it off of him. Two of the other marines helped him push it off as the sound of a Heron filled the sky. Captain Laurens looked up and ushered the marines away from the forest. He watched as a Heron carrying the basis of the firebase began descending upon them with eight Hornets coming down.

"Frost to Heron, place that base away from the forest. Wildlife is hostile," Laurens notified the Heron.

"Heron to Frost, Stinger 1 and Stinger 2 are waiting for tasking." The Heron pilot replied as the Heron moved away from the forest.

"Stinger 1, stick with the Heron. Stinger 2, patrol the outskirts of the forest while we get the firebase up and running."

"Roger, Stinger 2 is beginning our patrol." Half of the Hornets broke off from the formation and started to fly around the outskirts of the forest. The Heron had dropped off the base and it was just a waiting game for the foundation to finish building beneath the facility.

"Back up towards the main building. Keep your eyes, ears, and guns trained on that forest." Laurens ordered as they swiftly began to retreat to the command center. It was going well when the howls started followed by the ground rumbling.

"Stinger 2-1 to Frost, we're seeing lots of movement in the trees. Rapidly approaching the treeline, permission to engage?" The Hornets had long since pulled away from being right over the canopy. Instead they had chosen to patrol the treeline instead.

"Permission granted, engage at will!" Laurens dropped into a crouch as he took aim at the black and white wolves rushing at them. He pulled the trigger as casing after casing was ejected from the gun. As the casing fell, it witnessed a glorious site of battle. The wolves never truly stood a chance against the rounds of the MA5D but coupled with Hornets who had gatling guns and missiles; the chances of survival were slim. Yet, some made it through. One had managed to pounce on Laurens who had drawn his combat knife and driven it deep into the side of the beowolf before pulling out his magnum and unloading a clip into the underside of the wolf. He shoved it away from him before reloading his magnum and unloading the next set into the head of the wolf. As the casing finally hit the ground, the gunfire stopped as the wolves retreated quickly into the depths of the forest. The bodies of their comrades already disappearing in a black smoke.

"Frost to Stinger 2-1, return to patrol pattern. Stinger 1, begin patrolling alongside Stinger 2. We're running out of ammo.

"Dawn to Frost, the firebase is up and running. We're sending down some supplies to get a supply depot and armory up. Take it easy now as well, reinforcements are on their way alongside turrets. You did a good job, Laurens." The comms officer whispered into his ear.

"It's always been a good job, Kathy. Anyways, I'll be making an after action report soon so I'll talk to you once I get back onboard."

"Looking forward to it," Kathy's voice crackled away as Laurens approached the base. It's main door had opened up and he delved into the interior of the base with Team Frost right behind him. The barracks hadn't been created yet but there were temporary quarters that they could use to recuperate and some supplies to refill ammo with. It was going to be a long time before they got any real wrest.

 **Firebase Eternal, Anima, Remnant [One Month Later]**

The UNSC Dawn was quick in getting Firebase Eternal up and running. Within a month, the firebase had grown into a full fledged outpost. A pelican landed outside of the base which hadn't fully gotten it's landing strip area setup. It opened bay door as Joseph and Cassandra stepped out onto the soft green grass of the plains.

"Welcome to Firebase Eternal, Admiral." Richards gestured to the base in front of them. Cassandra gave a small smirk at the title. During the one month of settling into their new roles and fulfilling the plan, the commanders of the various other ships had all agreed to promote Cassandra to the rank of a Four-Star Admiral in lieu of a proper promotion committee. This was done as a way to work out the command structure since everyone was at the same rank except for Cassandra. Cassandra was chosen as she was the most senior commanding officer at the time as well as being the one to lead the initial actions on Remnant. Thus, she was the candidate for the Admiral position. After Cassandra had taken the role of Admiral, she headed the impromptu promotion committee and put forth Richards name for the status of Rear Admiral. She would have suggested von Punit or Garfield as the commanders of the Redoubtable and Paris, respectively, were much more seasoned at leading than she was. However, at their insistence, they gave Richards their support since he would be playing a major role in leading the ground forces. The impromptu committee promoted several commanders including von Punit and Garfield to full fledged Captains.

"It's a wonderful looking firebase, Richards. I had no doubt you would accomplish this." Cassandra replied as she looked around. The firebase was formidable after one month. Wire fences coursed with electricity as they formed the outermost defensive line. There were guard towers interlaced within the wire fencing to provide more firepower. A hundred or so meters back, the steel walls gleamed with the automated defense turrets tracking the two officers as they made their way towards the main gate. Guard towers were located at every intersection of the wall and two of them flanked the main gate to provide a wide view of the surrounding area.

"Thank you Admiral, but it wasn't just us that got it up. We had some help," The two officers made their way into the base after the gate hissed open. Cassandra smiled as a familiar looking faunus stepped towards them.

"Sergeant Storm, it has been a while." Cassandra shook hands with the ram faunus who had explained Aura to her. The miners they had rescued had taken one of two paths. They either returned to Remnant as civilians, dropping them off on the continent of Menagerie where a big chunk of the faunus were located. The second was they would enlist with the UNSC and receive combat training before being deployed to the ground. A month wasn't much but it would do for the meantime.

"Admiral Westfield, it certainly has been. How have you been?" Lazu asked as he took off his modified helmet. It was the standard issue Marine helmet but it had holes to accommodate for his ram horns. The faunus had done similar changes to fit their features.

"Good, it's been a long month though. Everyone has been very busy."

"That's good, now if you excuse me, I have to go out on patrol soon. It was a pleasure to see you again." Lazu put his helmet back on and saluted Cassandra. He moved past them towards a warthog that had driven up during their short talk. He climbed into the back and loaded the gatling gun before telling the driver to go. It drove off as the two returned to the tour of the base.

"Barracks, armory, several factories, warehouses, and a research center alongside the command center are the most important facilities of Firebase Eternal. The First Marine Battalion has settled in well and are conducting scouting missions." Richards pointed out each one before they entered the command center. "However, we've found something of interest." They went through several security doors before finally arriving at the central hub of the command center. Various command staff flitted between terminals and a general chatter filled the air. Richards led Cassandra to the holotable in the center.

"You remember that mine you had raided?" Richards asked as he enlarged a familiar looking compound.

"Yeah, what about it?" Cassandra looked the compound over, noting some big differences from the last mine they had raided.

"Ma'am, this is a different mine. Much bigger in scale and it has heavier security, a lot more combat droids and bigger guns for the humans. That and we've seen this hovering above it." Richards sent a hologram of an airship. "This airship dwarfs the size of our frigates, but it seems that some of the faunus recognize it as something from Atlas. We checked in with the prisoners of the first mine and discovered that this was an Atlesian Airship. Apparently, it's the top of the line for them as their big shot general uses one as his flagship."

"Any chance that ship is their general's?" Cassandra asked as she spun and inspected the airship. "And those droids, unless they've been given an upgrade, won't be too much of an issue. Their armor is made of steel but they seem to operate remotely and lack the intelligence of even a dumb AI. The rounds that the UNSC can penetrate that easily especially at the range we're engaging at."

"Low chances that ship is the same one that the general uses. So, shall we do this quietly or make a statement?" Richards asked with a smirk, "The ground forces are itching for action and I'll be damned if our activity hasn't been noticed yet."

"Pull the Paris from orbit and have it prepare for ship to ship combat. I have a special project I've been waiting to deploy now. Get the Sangheili to prepare a Phantom."

"Are you sure? They're trained and all but they're inexperienced. Are you sure you want to deploy them now?"

"Positive, the only way to see if they're ready is a trial by fire."

"Very well, shall I send the order?"

"No, I'll handle it. I know the perfect team for this." Cassandra smiled as she began hailing the Eternity.

 **UNSC Eternity, S-Deck, Quarters of Fireteam Atlas**

Ronald was staring at the gray ceiling of his team's quarters as they relaxed after another day of training. It was tough, they had nearly lost their match against Fireteam Romulus but some luck and a grenade had secured their victory.

"Hey boss, how ya feeling after getting carried so hard?" George's voice drifted into Ronald's ear as he chuckled and gave him the thumbs up.

"Peachy, G, peachy." Ronald turned over in his bunk and closed his eyes. He was trying to get some rest but it seemed that fate had other ideas.

"Fireteam Atlas, report to the armory to receive your armor and weapons. I repeat, Fireteam Atlas is to report to the armory to receive their armor and weapons. Fireteam Atlas is being deployed." Aimee's voice rang through the ship as Ronald shot up with eyes wide.

"We're getting deployed? Like actual combat?" Serena asked as she poked her head down from the top bunk of Ronald's bed as Ronald was putting his bodysuit on.

"It doesn't matter right now, let's suit up and let's get to the armory." Leo told the others as Atlas prepared themselves.

 **UNSC Eternity, S-Deck, Armory**

"Step onto the platform to receive your armor. Armaments come after." Aimee directed the fireteam to the platform where they stood with their arms outstretched to their sides.

"About time we got to wear this for something besides war games, eh boss?"

"Yeah, it feels like we're finally going to do something." Ronald watched as several metal arms descended from the ceiling with armor pieces that they put on him.

"Sorry for the lack of customization, but your deployment was a last minute call. You can customize them once you return to the Eternity." Aimee apologized, giving them a sheepish look as they gave her a grateful nod.

"It's no problem Aimee. We're happy to have them," Serena told her softly as her helmet covered her face.

"Very well, initializing armor sync now. Sync complete. You're ready for deployment, Atlas. Head to the armory and gear up. A Phantom is waiting for you in Hangar Bay 2. Good luck!" Aimee waved to them as the fireteam chuckled. They made their way to the armory where the soldier in charge of the armory saluted them before gesturing to the racks around them.

"Pick whatever you feel comfortable with. Then check in with me so I can log it. Don't shoot me or each other, we don't know if we have enough resources to actually replenish that." The soldier said before he turned his attention to a disassembled rifle on the table. Fireteam Atlas broke apart as they browsed through the ranks and shelves around them. Ronald kept eyeing a battle rifle before finally giving in and taking it. Shouldering it, he peered through the scope and grunted in contentment before placing it on his back. He looked around before his eyes settled on a familiar looking M739 SAW.

"Oh, yes. This is definitely mine," He went over to it and picked it up before admiring the larger drum mag and stabilization jets. He nodded at it and reminisced about the various war games that he had fought with this weapon. He put it onto his back before holstering a M6G and returning to the soldier. He notified him on his weapons before waiting for the rest of his team. He groaned as his team showed up. "There are three of you, and all of you chose a shotgun as one of your guns?"

"What? I'm completely garbage at hand to hand combat." Leo shrugged as he shifted the sniper on his shoulder.

"You're also the sniper who also rarely engages in hand to hand combat. And really Serena? You're the designated marksman as well, at least you chose a DMR this time."

"Aw come on, Ronald. It was one time that I decided to change it up and it went bad." Serena pouted after she gave her two cents.

"George, I honestly expected this from you for a reason. You're our hard hitter but is the rocket necessary?" Ronald gestured to the rocket launcher that George had strapped to his back.

"It's always necessary, boss. Always." George told him seriously and he just sighed before the soldier waved them off.

"Good luck!" He yelled after them before returning to his rifle.

 **UNSC Eternity, Hangar Bay 2**

Fireteam Atlas made their way to the phantom, not used to the fact that they were at peace with the split-jaws yet.

"Ey, boss, you sure we can trust the split-jaws? I remember them torching Currahee before everything went boom." George asked as they neared the phantom.

"Admiral says we can trust them, I'm going to take her word on it. Now shut it and get on board," Ronald climbed in and the Elites closed the side doors after the rest of his team got on.

"So, what's the briefing Aimee?" Ronald asked as he heard a soft hum.

"How's your team with heights?"


	7. Big Ship, Big Boom

**Chapter 7: Big Ship, Big Boom**

 **AN: If I posted this on time, then congratulate me for actually getting through school to remember this :D. If I post early, celebrate cause it'll be like another week or so before the next update as that means I have Chapter 8 partly done. If I'm late, I apologize and hope I can get Chapter 8 out quicker as an apology. Chapter 9 forward will be from scratch so updates may be a bit slower as I have decided to change how the rest plays out so I'm scrapping my made chapters from 9 forward.**

"Boss?" George asked over the comms as the winds whipped around them. The phantom had dropped the spartans off on the top of the airship. It was undetected of course after they had engaged their stealth drive. What had surprised the spartans were the split-jaws equipping them with their own camo before dropping them onto the top of the ship. Their visors were constantly scanning the environment and they could at least see each other through the outlines of their armor. A storm had begun to pick up and the winds were picking up in speed.

"Keep moving, we need to get to those doors before the winds pick up anymore!" Ronald ordered as the rain began to pelt them. The water rolled off the visors as the Spartans quickly made their way to the doors. Ronald pushed it open and peaked inside. He took point as a familiar voice sounded.

"Remember, you're here to infiltrate this ship and get me to the command bridge. The admiral wants us to access whatever communications equipment they have here. If it's anything like the UNSC, I can assure you that we can access the rest of the world's communication lanes through a military channel." Aimee whispered as the team stopped moving down the hall as a droid walked past them.

"Sir, this whole ship is lacking in security. They're either really confident that nothing can take it over or they're completely idiotic." Serena notified Ronald as she tracked another droid passing them with her shotgun. They were still making their way to a major hallway as the halls they had passed through seemed to be offshoots.

"Whatever the reason, it's beneficial to us. Aimee, any idea where the bridge is?" Ronald and his team had finally entered a main hallway, only to realize that they didn't have a clue as to where the bridge was.

"Take this hallway all the way down and then hang a left. Go up the staircase there and you should be towards the front of the ship. Hang a right and then enter the doors there. There you will find the bridge." Aimee replied.

"How'd you know that?" George asked, curious.

"One of the faunus worked at an airship dock before being taken to the mines. He managed to steal glances at the blueprints since the foremen were too arrogant to hide them, believing that the faunus were too stupid to understand it." Aimee quipped as the team began to move forward once more. They made their way through the halls, uncontested thanks to the lack of patrols and their camo. They passed a door before it opened to let out two soldiers that were talking. They made it down the hall, never noticing that the door stayed open behind them.

"Boss, looks like an armory over here. Big one too," George softly whistled as he looked in. "How bout we leave them a bit of a surprise?"

"You packed explosives? Christ George, what the hell did you expect that we'd need explosives for?" Leo asked as they made their way into the armory anyways.

"Always gotta be prepared, Leo. Never know what we'll need." George said and everyone could see the crooked grin through his visor even with the camo and all.

"Set those explosives quick then. If I remember the briefing files, find the ammo and any barrels of that Dust stuff. Stuff's highly volatile, so it'll maximize damage. Don't trigger them until we're either off the ship or I tell you to. Understood?" Ronald ordered as he and Serena watched the door as George and Leo set up the explosives after they gave an affirmative grunt. Minutes passed before they were done.

"Let's move out, Atlas. We're almost to the bridge. Another floor and we'll be there." Ronald told them as they began to climb the stairs at the end of the hall. They ascended the staircase quickly before making their way through one more hall before arriving at a familiar gray door.

"Is this it? We've passed several doors like this, if this is the bridge then their security is really lacking." Serena asked as Ronald stepped up to the door which opened up after he waved his head towards it. "And they're motion activated without identification. Christ, they're asking for this ship to be hijacked." The team quickly slipped in as they listened to the five people in the bridge that were watching the door, curious as to why it opened.

"Must be a bug with the sensors, we'll have maintenance check it out later." One of them said and everyone turned back to their monitors.

"Any idea why we're assigned to a Schnee mine? I mean, I understand that the Schnee's dust is vital to Atlas and all that but why and how did they get a military airship to guard one of their mines on a different continent. I mean, didn't the mercenaries do a good enough job as it was?" One of the soldiers leaning against a wall asked the other next to them.

"There are rumors that one of the mines on Solitas was turned over by the White Fang. Completely decimated the garrison and the mine was destroyed. As for the how, Jacques Schnee has the council by the balls. He knows he could withhold dust from Atlas to force the council to his side so it was easy." The other explained as the soldier nodded along.

"Hey, will you two shut up and get down to the engineering bay? I want an engineer to look at the sensors on that door quickly," Another one at a terminal yelled.

"Yeah, yeah." One of the soldiers said dismissively as they walked off.

"Interface with the closest terminal Spartan. I can slip in and see what I can do about their security before installing a bug to monitor their traffic and to give us access to their droids if my hunch is correct." Aimee told Ronald as he made his way to the closest monitor and pressed his hand against it. He watched as the screen flashed before returning to normal as Aimee made her way through the system.

"This security is horrible! No firewalls, the encryption was primitive at 32bit, identification was a username and password which was simple to crack, no security tokens, and there isn't even a secondary authentication program." Aimee ranted as Ronald chuckled softly, "Gah, whatever, I've set the bug. Go ahead and get off the ship. There's a hangar towards the rear end, I suggest stealing one of their dropships if you can."

"You heard the lady, let's move. George, set off those explosives as soon as we get to the hangar. We need a distraction to slip out with the dropship." Ronald ordered as Fireteam Atlas made their way out of the bridge and through the maze of hallways inside towards their goal.

 **UNSC Paris, Bridge**

"Captain Garfield! We're breaking atmosphere and coming up on the ship now, we got reports that it's massive." An ensign notified him as he nodded.

"Once we're in range, start spinning up the MAC gun. We need that ready to fire once we have sights on that ship" Garfield ordered as he watched the viewport in front of him. The admiral had given the order for the Paris to destroy a warship belonging to what has been deemed as hostile forces. They broke through the cloud layer of the storm, the ship steady as the massive ship in front of them came into view.

"Mother of God…" Garfield breathed out as he saw the massive ship silhouetted by the lightning of the storm.

"Captain, MAC is seventy percent charged!"

"Sir, the ship's spotted us and we're picking up a massive energy spike from the ship!"

"Sir, explosion detected from the opposite ship, on their starboard beam. Receiving transmission...Sir, Fireteam Atlas is reporting that they've hijacked a transport and are inbound to our location."

"Get those Spartans onboard when they get close, otherwise brace!" Garfield yelled as he saw a red glow from the side of the ship before a laser shot out and impacted with the shielding of the Paris. It caused an explosion that damaged the shields and rocked the ship. "Where are we with that MAC gun? I don't want to see if that thing can actually breach our shields and armor!"

"MAC is fully charged sir! AI's doing it's final targeting calculations!"

"Calculations are done, firing!"

"Understood, brace!" The cacophony of sounds on the bridge were overcome by the buzzing as the ship gently recoiled as the ferric tungsten round was shot from the forward MAC gun. It looked like a solid beam of light as it impacted with the center of the massive ship and punched a hole into it. There was a moment of silence before the entire thing exploded outwards. The explosion tore the ship in half and the resulting shockwave shattered much of the center of the ship's hull. It also caused it to fan out and rain fire and metal shards onto the ground below. The rain quickly quenched some of the fires but some of the larger ones were still on fire as they crashed into the ground below. The bridge continued to bustle as Garfield stared at the remains of the once massive ship made its final journey towards the dirt. He stood from his chair and went to the holotable where several of the officers were watching the UNSC launch their assault on the mine. The Scorpions made quick work of the outer defences while the marines and warthogs blitzed the ground forces. Garfield smirked as he saw the Hornets and Falcons providing air support as well as tactical insert vehicles. He knew that the fight wasn't going to last much longer.

 **Schnee Mine 104, Anima [Before UNSC Ground Assault]**

Cobalt looked up at the tiny ship that her partner had pointed out to her as it descended from the cloud cover and moved slowly towards their position. "Wherever the White Fang got that thing, they were ripped off!" Madrigal said as Cobalt raised an eyebrow. They had been briefed that the White Fang might try to hit more Schnee mines and that anybody not bearing Schnee logos or Atlas military markings was most likely them. Yet, something felt off. Cobalt couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. The Atlesian ship had moved away from the mine earlier and she could see it beginning to charge its weapons. The lasers should've destroyed that ship. They were some of the most powerful weapons that existed on Remnant. Yet, it fired and an explosion covered the smaller ship. She almost let out a sigh of relief when the smoke cleared and her stomach dropped.

"No fucking way," she breathed out as the small ship was unscathed. It had stopped moving now and the dread began to get worse before she watched as the front of the ship glowed. It was an entrancing glow that seemed to cause time to slow down around her. She could see each individual drop of rain as it fell slowly around her. That entrancing glow brightened as a beam of light shot from it and collided with the Atlesian airship. She watched, entranced, as it fizzled out and only the sound of rain in her ears. Then, it was the image of the apocalypse. The airship exploded, sheared in half by the force of the explosion. The two halves were blown away from each other as chunks began to fall from the sky in all directions, scattered by the shockwave.

"Cobalt, come on!" Madrigal, her voice laced with fear, brought her back to reality as she realized that she was being dragged off by her friend.

"Madri? What's happening?" Cobalt asked, her voice uncertain and tinged with fear.

"I don't know but that can't be White Fang. Atlas's ships are the best in the world, there is no way that ship could just destroy it like that. Whatever that ship is, we have to go before it decided to level us instead!" Madrigal continued to drag Cobalt down the stairs from their guard tower when an explosion sounded above and the shockwave rippled through the tower. The two were tossed down the remaining steps, impacting with the floor hard. Madrigal was knocked unconscious immediately but Cobalt struggled to stay conscious when she saw the door get kicked in and bright flashes of light before the darkness took her.

"Prisoners, captain, and lots of them. The assault went as planned, most of them were too in shock after seeing their ship explode from something half its size." A hazy male voice reached Cobalt's ears as her eyes sluggishly opened. It was blinding at first. She blinked rapidly as her eyes started to adjust to the light. She grimaced as pain shot through her head. She had hit the floor rather hard so she had guessed it was most likely a concussion. "Yeah, we have the prisoners chained up in the former bunkhouses of the faunus. We evacuated the young, old, and injured with the pelicans. The rest of the miners are choosing to stay here, sign up with us." Her head turned towards the lit corner of the room where she made out a man hunched over a table with a radio in his hands as he looked outside. She could hazily make out something moving behind the man as her vision swam again. She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes to ride out the pain and she hoped that she didn't faint. Soon, the pain subsided and she opened her eyes again. Her vision was a bit clearer this time and she could make out the monkey faunus in front of her. Yet, she was surprised to not see the usual White Fang garb on him. Instead, it was an olive green combat rig. A hole had been cut into the shirt to allow his tail movement but otherwise, it didn't seem like White Fang. The door creaked open and she turned her head slightly and watched as a human walked up to the faunus who saluted him and received a salute in return

"Sergeant Steel? I've been sent to relieve you of your shift. Get to the canteen and get some grub. It'll be a long night apparently. Orders from HighCom are saying that we're not going to level this mine and instead use it for our own resources. Some of the shrinks want to perform some research. We'll pull them from orbit as soon as we secure the mine. The Dawn is apparently deploying another firebase nearby to augment our defensive capabilities." The man explained as Cobalt's eyes widened and she held back a gasp. " _Orbit? As in they were in space? No, that's impossible. Whoever these people are, they couldn't have gone into space. Dust doesn't work in space…"_ Her thoughts were a mess as she failed to watch the faunus leave and the human take his place. She felt herself slowly slip from consciousness as her mind settled on one thing, " _Whoever they are, they're at least merciful."_

 **Former Schnee Mine 104, Now Called Firebase Romeo, Anima [One Week After UNSC Assault]**

"Firebase Romeo to Firebase Eternal, prisoners are secured and ready for transport to Eternal, how copy?"

"Eternal to Romeo, we're sending the convoy over now."

"Stinger 2-2 to Eternal, are we clear to RTB for refuel and refit?"

"Roger Stinger 2-2, head to Landing Zone Alpha."

The radio chatter was normal and Rear Admiral Richards couldn't help but smile. It almost felt like home. Almost. They were still getting used to the fact that this wasn't the same world or maybe even the same galaxy as their old home. He strolled around the former mining complex that was being turned into an automated mine. No more workers were needed, just the mining drills and droids. Usually, officers like him wouldn't be allowed to just casually stroll through what was considered hostile territory even if it was under UNSC control. Yet, Admiral Westfield let them do as they wish as long as they followed orders and UEG laws.

"Paris to Romeo, we have sights on multiple ships inbound. Two of the big ones and at least a dozen transport ships, orders?" Richards heard as he stopped by the communications building again.

"This is Romeo to Paris, can you accurately hit them from your distance?" Richards asked, not wanting to risk those ships firing down at them.

"Targeting calculations are done, we have a thirty seven percent chance of missing the ships completely. Should we reposition and fire when under the accepted ten percent margin of error?" The comms officer on the Paris replied as the Paris began to move away from them.

"Yes, take those ships out of the sky. I'll raise Admiral Westfield for more firepower. I think Atlas has finally started to hit back." Richards replied as he gestured for the closest comms officer to raise the Eternity.

"Firebase Romeo to HIGHCOM, Rear Admiral Richards is requesting reinforcements. Atlesian forces inbound, Paris is on intercept course. The Paris will require some help if they're to intercept with no damage."

"HIGHCOM to Romeo, the Redoubtable is being rerouted for support alongside several Stridents. The Second Armored Battalion and the Third Marine Battalion are enroute. Hold on, Romeo, we're getting interference. Ma'am, slipspace ruptures detected just outside of lunar orbit!" The radio went silent and Richards gulped, hoping that it was more friendly forces.

 **Outside Lunar Orbit, UNSC Eternity**

"Aimee, I need those IDs." Cassandra yelled out as she leaned over the holotable. The ships hadn't raised contact with them yet and that was worrying.

"Scanning still, Cassandra, give me a second," Aimee retorted and Cassandra grunted as her eyes narrowed at the ship. Insurrectionists were going to be a pain to deal with if they were here. Her fleet had a presence on the ground but supplies were limited. They wouldn't last if they were getting destroyed or damaged in engagements.

"Scans completed! They're UNSC ships, Battlegroup Bismarck or at least the remains of it. It was attached to the Home Fleet before being given tasking to escort colony ships on terraforming and recolonization missions. Hailing them now," Aimee responded.

"Battlegroup Bismarck, this is Admiral Westfield of the Remnant Fleet. Who is the lead commanding officer?" Cassandra asked, hoping they didn't have to relocate some of the scouting parties as boarding parties.

"Admiral Westfield, this is Rear Admiral Lorens, we're what's left of the Home Fleet and most likely what's left of the rest of the UNSC fleets. Can we get a situation report as our navigation systems can't pinpoint where we are." Lorens replied and Cassandra sighed. It was more UNSC.

"Most likely, a slipspace anomaly took you off course from your original jump destination. This planet is called Remnant, it's not on any maps of the galaxy or any known worlds in our galaxy. Most likely, we're no longer in the Milky Way or even the same universe. As of now, you fall under my command. Remnant is inhabited by two genus of humans, the normal genus and the fauna genus to be precise. There are four kingdoms, which is a loose term for the governing bodies, that organize civilization. A fifth one, an unofficial one as it names the continent, is governed solely by faunus. The other four are a mix of the two genus. We're currently at odds with the Kingdom of Atlas as they seem to disregard common sense and labor laws by letting the Schnee Dust Company operate mines under illegal conditions." She informed them, "Divert both colony ships to the third planet in the system. Sangheili from the Swords of Sanghelios have deemed the planet capable of supporting life. It also seems to be similar to Reach resource wise. The cruisers and frigates should join the rest of the fleet in orbit. Hold a defensive pattern and keep the crew at heightened alert. These slipspace anomalies might go against us one day."

"Understood, UNSC Concrete Resolve and UNSC Nature's Wrath are en route to the Sangheili. The rest of Bismarck are going into defensive patterns around Remnant." Lorens said as a comms officer began to relay a message to Cassandra.

"Romeo to HIGHCOM, requesting frigate fire support. More Atlesian ships are showing up. They're intent on taking that mine back."

"Damn it, delay that order Lorens. Reroute all of your frigates to the coordinates we're sending you." Cassandra breathed out as several frigates moved to break atmosphere.

"They're away, the rest of my ships will go into a defensive pattern and await tasking." Lorens responded.

 **Atlesian Task Force Gold, Anima, Three Hundred Meters Outside of Firebase Romeo**

"General Ironwood, they have two ships approaching. They are tiny compared to our airships. We'll crush them easily." A soldier said arrogantly.

"General, do remember that we lost an airship here earlier." A feminine voice told James Ironwood as he looked at the two ships in contemplation.

"The crew were probably sleeping or something. Those mongrels in the White Fang are cowards but they're smart. They probably set the ship's engines and armory to explode." The soldier said arrogantly.

"Captain, charge up the lasers. I want those ships out of the air ASAP." Ironwood turned and faced his right hand. Winter Schnee had proven herself very capable as an Atlesian Specialist.

"Lasers are charged, open fire!" The soldier said as three lasers burst from the guns on the ship and impacted with the two ships. The crew scoffed and were set to go to full speed when someone called out.

"Ships are still up! They're not scratched at all!" An ensign called out as Ironwood turned around in shock. He had gathered a task force for two reasons. One was to appease Jacques Schnee who was threatening to cut off Atlas from dust, and the second was to see what caused one of his ships to go silent. He soon found out. He watched, as the front end of the ships glowed before a streak of light impacted with the ships on either side of his ship. He watched as the light breached the ships before stopping. Silence, as the bridge didn't know what to do, before all hell broke loose. An explosion rocked the ship from the left before another rocked it from the right. The two ships on his sides were crashing to the ground in pieces. They had been reduced to little more than scrap metal by a single shot of something.

"All ships, open fire! Helmsman, get us the hell out of here!" Ironwood called out as the rest of the task force's ships began to fire at the ships. Another stream of light slammed into another ship from above as more of the tiny ships made their way through the cloud cover.

"Sir, they're coming from above!" Another ensign reported, "Gold 2, 3, and 4 are gone. Should we pull back?" Ironwood nodded to him before the ensign broadcasted the message to retreat. Another explosion rocked the ship as another one of his airships was sent crashing to the ground. Whatever enemy this was, it was far more powerful than anything he had ever seen. ' _They had come from above. No, that's impossible. Space travel is impossible. No dust works outside of Remnant's atmosphere.'_

"Gold 6 to Gold 1, we're evacuating the ship. They're too slow, we're not going to outrun them. Gold 5 just got reduced to scrap, we're evacuating now." The message broadcasted as Ironwood grimaced. ' _What unholy hell have you unleashed, Schnee?'_ Another explosion rocked the ship, this time tossing then about. It had to have been Gold 6, they were assigned as the General's main protection. If they were gone, then all that was left was Ironwood's ship. He watched as the ships turned their attention to his ship. He knew he didn't have much time.

"Atlesian forces on the ground, should we evacuate?" The arrogant soldier from before asked, scared for his life.

"What kind of question is that, get everyone out of here and onto a dropship. Quickly!" Ironwood barked as he strode out for the hangar bay. His personal dropship was already waiting for him on his arrival as its pilot was waiting to greet him at the door. He jumped in and helped Winter on before they took off after the pilot did a quick pre-flight check. They barely made it out of the hangar bay before his ship exploded too. The shockwave slammed into his dropship and it spun out of control. It slammed into the ground after a few tense seconds of fighting it. Ironwood slammed against the side, the force knocking him unconscious.

He awoke to a crackling fire and distant gunfire. He moved, grunting in pain before a familiar hand pushed him back down.

"Stay low, sir. The pilot's dead and whoever owns those ships is tearing through our people," Winter said as he looked up and noticed her state. Her white combat uniform was scorched and stained with soot as her face was the same. Small cuts littered her face as he took in the makeshift bandage around her head.

"Situation?" Ironwood asked, his voice raspy.

"Not good." She replied as she shifted slightly to let him see out the hole in the side of the dropship. He watched, eyes wide, as faunus in combat rigs and uniforms fought alongside humans against his people. A ram faunus, probably a squad leader from his demeanour and the fact that he looked to be shouting orders jumped off one of the moving vehicles. He landed on top of a soldier and ended them with several bullets to the chest and one to the head. He tackled another, slashing their throat before moving onto the next target. Soon, the gunfire faded before an uneasy silence settled onto the chaotic battlefield. "They never stood a chance, general. I was conscious the entire time and I knew that if I tried to fight, you would be alone here to possibly repeat my mistake and die as well."

"Schnee, we have to get moving. I know of a cache nearby with a Bullhead. Atlas spec ops scattered these caches to the wind on missions as a way of preparing for more ops in the future. Now, it might be our only chance." Ironwood said as Winter helped him up.

"Sir, I don't think that's smart. The enemy is out there still." Winter said, as she weighed the possibly outcomes.

"It's better than waiting here for them to find us huddled in a corner in fear. Now, come on," Ironwood shrugged off Winter's arm as he limped towards the forest. Winter sighed and followed his lead. They were gone by the time the UNSC inspected the crashed dropship.

 **Spec Ops Cache, Anima**

Winter used her glyphs to help her load the Bullhead as Ironwood prepped it for launch. It had been several hours of moving through the woods that they stumbled upon the cache. Night was nearly upon them and they feared for what lurked in the woods. They both knew that the massacre that just occurred was going to provide a beacon for both Grimm and bandits. They had to move quickly. Winter got on after she finished loading the supplies and the doors closed. Ironwood guided the Bullhead as it lifted into the air and fled towards Atlas. They skirted around the crash sites of the task force and Ironwood couldn't resist looking down. Several square kilometers of the ground was littered with the halves and remains of his task force. He turned away and focused, pushing the recent events to the back of his mind. He had to report this threat as soon as he could. " _The survival of Atlas depends on this information"_ He thought as he pushed the Bullhead as fast as it could go.


	8. Olive Branch

**Chapter 8: Olive Branch**

 **I apologize for the long delay. I got bombarded with end of the year projects that have prevented me from doing much writing. However, the projects have cleared up and I'm able to actually move forward now. Yeah...The Atlesian airships, thanks to some folks on the spacebattles forum, comes out at around 1200m long (They used Ruby's height and the crater next to her to then figure it out. Bless them and their ability to do so). The UNSC frigates are at around 500ish meters long in comparison.**

 **Atlesian War Room, Atlas**

"General, you cannot be serious in proposing that we make peace with these...things?" A councilman asked as the other members of the council voiced similar sentiments, "They've destroyed Atlesian property, killed Atlesian citizens, and have taken many more captive. If they aren't White Fang, then they are still as bad as them."

"I don't think you understand, councilman, the enormity of the hole you are trying to dig yourself into." Ironwood said, "Did none of you read the report I sent you?"

"Elaborate on your report, general. I never read it but I am curious as to why you think our forces can't handle them under a different leader." A different council member voiced.

"They fielded ships that are half the size of our battleships. They took hits from our lasers, which are among if not the most powerful in the four kingdoms, without taking a single scratch. They also then proceeded to wipe out the rest of my fleet with a single shot per ship. Specialist Schnee and I tried to evacuate with the rest of our ship when we were knocked out of the sky. What I awoke to was a massacre. Our soldiers and bots are the envy of the world. They were tossed aside and ripped apart like paper dolls out there," Ironwood growled out before giving them a predatory smirk. "Go ahead and replace me. The moment the next idiot you hire goes out there and comes back saying the same thing, I'll go about my day laughing knowing that your time as council members is running out. Once the media hears of the amount of people killed and about how easily our oh so undefeatable military was destroyed, you'll become laughing stocks. Atlas's reputation would be tarnished forever. It's honor would be stained. And you'll go down in history as the people who did so." Ironwood knew how to play the politicians. They hated being reminded that they could lose their jobs. On top of that, they valued their honor and status too much. If they even thought about their legacy getting stained, it would bother them to no end.

"All right Ironwood, we see where you're coming from. How do you plan to go about this...peace talk mission?" One of the council members asked, resigned.

"I need an envoy ship and a small contingent of guards. We can't be too careful now can we?" Ironwood smirked again as the council gave into his demands before signing off.

"General, what do you actually plan on doing?" Winter asked him and he sighed.

"Exactly what I said, try and make peace." Ironwood grunted, "We can't hope to beat them, Miss Schnee. Only delay them with minor inconveniences at the best." He looked out the window of the war room at the ships and military personnel running around. "I used to believe we were untouchable. That nothing could ever get in the way of Atlas. Hubris, Schnee, is the bane of all commanders. Quell it and you'll make a fine commander someday." Ironwood smiled at his second in command. His scroll started beeping, his eyes noticing Ozpin's appearance on the screen. "You are dismissed, Schnee. Get some rest." Ironwood pushed her gently outside of the room before locking the door. He made his way towards the scrolls and answered the call. Ozpin's face had hints of curiosity as Ironwood was sure his own face was showing his irritation and exhaustion.

"James, what is the situation in Atlas? I've been hearing rumors from teachers about Schnee mines getting utterly destroyed with entire garrisons disappearing. Now, I'm hearing rumors from people in Vale that something defeated an Atlesian task force. Care to share?" Ozpin questioned and James sighed.

"I'll let you know the short side of the story. Everything's going to shit. A Schnee mine on Solitas was completely demolished. The quarry was completely levelled. No survivors were found, but the bodies left didn't match the numbers in documents. A month later, one of my ships went silent over another mine in Anima after Schnee managed to pull the council's balls into assigning it to his mines. No communications for a day and I assemble a task force. We arrive a week later, noticing a foreign looking base unlike anything we've ever seen. Insignias that we've never seen before. A ship half our size moved towards us and we fired on it. The damn thing didn't take a scratch. Then it fired back. A ship, half our damned size, tore one of my ships clean in half with a shot. More showed up and we evacuated the ships. I barely made it out, Ozpin. Whatever the hell Schnee's pissed off, we can't fight it." Ironwood explained, his mind on the soldiers he had left behind.

"Did they seem overtly hostile or can we use them as allies?" Ozpin retorted.

"That's what I'm trying to find out. I got permission from the council to extend an olive branch to these people. However, you need to get this Ozpin. They're working with faunus."

"So they are White Fang under a new flag?"

"No, they weren't attacking out of malice. I'm sure that it looked like we were the aggressors, and we were, so they responded in kind. White Fang or not, Ozpin, we have to discuss the threat of our...mutual enemy."

"She hasn't made any moves, her agents haven't done anything either. A few dust robberies but nothing much past that. I have a meeting with a prospective student coming up soon so we'll have to continue our little chat later. Ozpin out." Ironwood growled, knowing Ozpin was hiding something else. He coughed, clearing his throat and schooling his emotions, before he strode out of the room.

 **Captain's Quarters, UNSC Eternity**

Cassandra was on her back, her head dangling over the edge of the bed. She was in casual clothing as she flipped through an old novel her family had as music drowned out her hearing. She never noticed Aimee fizzle into existence nearby who had her arms crossed as she noticed the captain lying on the bed.

"Captain. Captain! Cassandra!" Aimee shouted before she pouted and huffed, fizzling out of existence for a second. She appeared in front of Cassandra's face with an annoyed look. What followed next was the most amusing series of events for Aimee. With a mix between a surprised yelp and an indignant scream, Cassandra tossed the novel away and jumped to the side. Her headphones dropped off of her head as she tumbled off the bed into a tangled heap. She huffed, glaring at the AI who was currently laughing at her predicament.

"Not cool, Aimee. Not cool at all," Cassandra growled out as she glared at the AI.

"Ahem, sorry captain. You weren't responding so I took my own action as a result. Anyways, you're needed on the bridge. Another set of slipspace ruptures occurred an hour ago, they've identified themselves as a research fleet. I had tasked them with studying the surrounding areas after confirming their story. One of the prowlers has breached the surface and is conducting research near Firebase Romeo." Aimee explained as Cassandra sighed.

"Tell me about stuff like this earlier. Anything else?"

"You're needed for a diplomatic meeting in Firebase Romeo." Aimee told her as Cassandra's eyes widened.

"Diplomatic meeting? I'm not a diplomat, Aimee. And what diplomatic meeting could possibly occur?" She replied, confused.

"It seems Atlas wants to clear up some misunderstandings about previous...work conditions and to see what we want for the release of their prisoners," Aimee explained as she looked at some files in front of her, "whose numbers are now around a thousand two hundred after combat a week ago."

"Ugh, fine...I'll get ready." Cassandra mumbled as Aimee giggled.

"Do pep up, dear. It's unbecoming of a lady of your status. Bye!" Aimee quipped as she fizzled out of existence as a shoe went through where she was previously.

"If I ever get back home and it hasn't gone to complete hell, I'm exchanging some words with whoever helped create Aimee…" Cassandra grumbled, muttering threats under her breath as she donned a fresh uniform. She sighed after looking at herself in the mirror before closing the closet and moving to leave her room. She took a step out and immediately collided with someone's armored back.

"Shit, sorry ma'am!" A familiar voice reached her ears as she was helped up.

"Serena? Serena Holmes?" Cassandra looked up at the Spartan with squinted eyes.

"Cassandra? Holy shit! Cassandra!" Serena went to pick up the admiral who held her hand up to stop her. She had believed that their admiral wasn't the same woman from her childhood despite the similar appearance.

"Easy there, I'm pretty sure you're going to break my back if you hugged me right now. I'm guessing this is your team?" Cassandra asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Mhm, we're assigned to be your bodyguards during the meeting."

"Well, Spartans will make a rather big impression. Anyways, come on. We can catch up on the way to the Pelican." Cassandra led the way as she traded stories with the Spartan. The two had been friends in their childhoods but Serena had died of a genetic disease early on. Cassandra was devastated when she had heard that as a kid and never really let her go. All she knew now was that it was good to have her friend back.

 **Firebase Romeo, Anima: Three Hours Later**

"General, this feels like a trap." Winter quipped, unsure as she eyed the imposing walls and turrets. They had arrived at the military base that now occupied the former Schnee mine a few hours ago. The defences alone were impressive. Metal walls stretched upwards with automated turrets tracking their every movement. The interior of the fort was also very impressive. Countless vehicle bays, living quarters, and air pads littered the interior and life had a deceptively calm air to it despite the chaos that it looked like. Personnel scurried from point to point as the roar of engines masked the yells of soldiers going about their daily business. The sounds weren't pretty but the view was at least tolerable. They had seen a quick glimpse at the mine shaft, seeing robots pulling out cart after cart of dust with surprising speed and efficiency. That was before they entered a smaller building on the outskirts of the camp. A perfect place for a discreet meeting or a perfect place to commit a murder.

"General Ironwood, I presume?" A feminine voice that caused Winter to turn her head to the side as a woman stepped into the building followed by what looked to be large humanoid robots. "I am Admiral Westfield of the UNSC Remnant Fleet. You have quite a lot to answer for." She took a seat on the far side of the room, gesturing to the seats in front of her. "Take a seat, this will take a while."

"Admiral, I would just like to open these talks with a sincere apology by the Atlesian council and our military for the actions we've taken against you in the past." General Ironwood said, trying to start talks on a good note.

"A sincere apology won't excuse this list of crimes, General." Westfield held her hand out as one of the ensigns handed her a file. "Horrid living conditions, torture, summary executions, kidnapping, and slavery are the tip of the iceberg. Yet, your council has the gall to merely offer an apology? My medical staff have given me a slimmed down version of the various injuries that every faunus has had to endure. So, tell me General, how these talks can possibly work out for both of us. You know exactly what I want and I know that you can't grant it." Westfield was thanking Aimee for feeding her lines, she had no idea what to say or do in these situations.

"Admiral, you have to understand the precarious position we are in now. Jacques Schnee holds Atlas, and very well the rest of Remnant, by the throat. He and the SDC monopolize the dust trade. His competitors have a long history of disappearing shortly after growing too big. You've met the Grimm, it'd be impossible if you haven't. The only way we can combat them is through that dust and right now? Schnee's threatening to stop the supply of dust until somebody answers for this." General Ironwood leaned on the table, holding Westfield's gaze who returned it. However, he hid his surprise at seeing the nervousness in her eyes. ' _She's never done this before. Maybe I can just pull this off.'_ He cleared his throat and continued, "Let us be reasonable people, Admiral Westfield. You know we can't do anything about Jacques Schnee and the SDC at the moment and I can assure you that I know you can't possibly hold my people prisoner indefinitely. So, how about we compromise? I leave Specialist Schnee here as a liaison between yourself and me while we...discuss further options and I can return with a quarter of my people. We can discuss other options for dealing with the SDC while we're at it." Ironwood was banking on the fact that she was inexperienced.

"A tenth of your people go back with you at our choosing. Some have seen too much to be considered stable enough for release. Either take the deal or vacate the premises within the next five minutes." Westfield retorted with a glare that lacked any true heat. ' _She won't bend but she understands that this would be beneficial to both of us.'_

"Deal, it has been a pleasure Admiral. Specialist Schnee, you are assigned to this location as the liaison between Atlas and the UNSC." Ironwood ordered before smirking, "If you do a good enough job, you might find a promotion waiting."

"Understood sir! I won't let you down," Winter saluted with a stern expression before turning to Admiral Westfield who was busy giving orders to those robots of hers.

"Serena, get me that list of prisoners ready for release. Ronald, take the rest of Fireteam Atlas and escort Miss Schnee to a free room in Block C." At that, the Atlesian contingent stood up looking indignant.

"Block C? Admiral, I thought we agreed to a liaison position, not a trading of hostages." Ironwood said as Winter agreed with an indignant nod.

"Oh, you misunderstand me general. Block C is what we refer to the area as. It is the officers quarter and most of my officers feel like they're in prison when they do their work there. Something about bland gray walls and copious amounts of paperwork does that to you." Cassandra explained as the general gave a hesitant nod. "Have we reached an understanding, general?"

"I think so Admiral. Let's make sure neither of us regret this." Ironwood said with a stoney face as he walked out with the robots. Fireteam Atlas followed shortly afterwards with Winter right behind them. Cassandra waited until the room was clear before collapsing into her chair with a sigh. She leaned forward and put her head in her hands.

"God. I'm not cut out for diplomat work." She murmured as Aimee appeared on the desk. With a soft giggle, she gently poked Cassandra who looked at her with a grateful smile. "Thanks for the help there, Aimee. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have made it without you whispering in my ear."

"That's what I'm here for, admiral. I suggest you take a minute to breathe and relax. I have a shuttle prepared to take you back to the Eternity." Aimee explained with a soft smile before fizzling out of existence. Cassandra just sighed but took Aimee's advice. She sat in that chair, taking deep breaths to convince herself to relax. " _What the hell am I doing?"_ was the last thought before she drifted off in the chair.

 **AN: I am so sorry for taking so long. Between graduation, end of the year projects, then preparing for college life; I sorta put fanfiction on the backburner. It wasn't until one of my friends who does proofreading for me now realized that I could push this onto the site. And I do apologize a hundred times over for making you wait and for my next assignment. Since I'm just entering college, I fear that my update schedule will be rather inconsistent. I'll do what I can but I make no promises on quick updates. Maybe later in the year when I am used to my schedule and all but until then. I'll see ya guys later!**


	9. The Night Holds Many Terrors

**Chapter 9: The Night Holds Many Terrors**

 **AN: I'M SO SORRY. Omg, I didn't even realize that it'd been so long since I've updated. God, I'm not ready for college T-T. Anyways, I apologize again for the long time with no update and I'm doubly sorry if this chapter doesn't seem up to snuff with my usual writing. I honestly have been soooooo busy trying to ensure that I actually pass my classes that I had to push all my fanfics on the backburner as a result. I can't promise any quick updates but I do promise that whenever I have time, I will work on it.**

 **AN/Update: This was reuploaded to fix the formatting issues that I just saw occurred. I didn't catch them all but I made sure to bold and italicize things that were in my original doc. Currently a quarter of the way done with chapter 10.**

 **UNSC Eternity, Captain's Quarters, Hours After The Diplomatic Meeting**

Cassandra awoke with a start as she sat straight up in her bed. She felt her heart beating in her chest as she raised a shaking hand to her face. She touched her face to make sure it was real. It was then that she realized that she had been crying. Her eyes looked around the darkened room, wild as she saw the shadows dance. Her nights were usually just empty blackness as she slept. However, the dream from last night tore at her in a way she had never thought possible.

"Get a grip, girl. You are Cassandra Westfield, Admiral of the UNSC Remnant Fleet. Before that, you have witnessed entire planets glassed and countless thousands die. A little nightmare shouldn't be affecting you this bad," She told herself as her entire being shook. She was lying to herself and she knew it. That wasn't just a nightmare, it was too real to be a nightmare. She slipped the covers off of the bed and slid her feet onto the freezing cold steel. She took a few calming breaths as her hand wiped the tears away. She took a few shaky steps towards the bathroom. As she stepped inside, she looked in the mirror at herself. She snorted at how badly she looked. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were red from the tears. She saw the minute tremors that ran through her body every once in a while. "What the hell was that?" She murmured as she got ready to take a shower to freshen up and escape the terror that had seized her.

 **Unknown Location, Unknown Time**

Cassandra's eyes opened to a hellish landscape. Dark, black pools of ooze dotted it as a red haze settled over the land. Rocks and purple crystals jutted out of the ground but her attention was drawn to the pools. She watched in horror as dark beings, no monsters, rose from these pools. They formed the shapes of monstrous wolves with bone masks and piercing red eyes. She made eye contact with one and she felt fear run through her body. Those eyes held no life in them. They said that the eyes were the windows to the soul, but those eyes revealed nothing. These monsters were not living beings. She continued to watch, horrified, as they began to take more and more monstrous shapes and forms. At once, she heard the wolves growl before their bone-chilling howl sent shivers down her spine. She closed her eyes, hoping that this would all end. The howls ended and she almost sighed before she heard a chilling chuckle. Her eyes snapped open to meet a pair of black and red eyes. Eyes that held such disdain and evil that Cassandra physically flinched away from it. Yet, she knew that those eyes weren't there with her. They were focused on some point in the distance.

"Rise my children, find your first feast and grow strong. Show humanity that they will always have to fear you and me." The last word sent a chill down Cassandra's spine as she looked into those eyes again. What she saw there would scar her forever. Countless deaths replayed in her mind as she saw faunus and human alike fall to the creatures behind her. Yet, there was something there that broke something within her. She saw the smiling faces of her family. Even as the flames licked up around them, they still smiled at her. She choked back a sob as her family turned to ash in front of her with a cheerful smile on their faces the entire time. She broke contact with the being's eyes and wished to wake up from this hell. She would soon wake up in her bed, reeling from what she had witnessed. Salem looked around, feeling a minute disturbance in her domain before she scoffed and walked back inside, dismissing the feeling as an inconsequential one.

 **UNSC Eternity, Hanger Bay 1, Two Hours Later**

Cassandra waited for the Atlesian liaison to arrive. It had been agreed upon by Aimee and the other commanders that any meetings between her and this liaison should occur on the Eternity for safety reasons. In the event that this liaison was an assassin, they'd be hard pressed to perform the action without the use of dust and even more hard pressed for an escape route. Cassandra just sighed and started to tap her foot. It took five minutes for the Pelican to dock and offload its passengers. Specialist Schnee, as she vaguely remembered the liaison was referred to as, looked around in awe as Cassandra stepped forward to meet them.

"Welcome aboard the UNSC Eternity, Specialist Schnee. We'll be holding our meeting in one of the observations bays, if you'd be so kind as to follow me." Cassandra said and started to lead after Schnee's nod of understanding. A period of comfortable silence reigned between them as they made their way to the observation bay.

"Are we really in orbit around Remnant? As in, are we really in space?" Schnee's first words were tinged with curiosity, showing the tight reign she had on her emotions. Cassandra just gave her a soft smile as the door to the observation bay opened up.

She gestured inside and said, "Why don't you find out for yourself?" Schnee walked into the observation bay and looked around noting the spartan* interior except for a table and chairs. Yet, it was the giant window that looked out into space that caught her attention. She walked over to it in a trance, gently laying her hand against the glass as she stared down at the familiar land masses below her. She could trace the outlines of Atlas, Anima, of all the continents on this side of the planet. She was struck silent by the beauty of it. The hum of the ship around her pulled her into her own thoughts and fantasies of simpler times.

"It's so beautiful…" Winter breathed out as she continued to drink in the sight before her.

"I was like you when I first saw my home from orbit. At such a high height, all you see is the beauty of the world. None of its horrible flaws or blemishes, just the beauty of it. Now we have work to do Miss Schnee." Cassandra told her as she sat at the table. Winter shook her head and nodded before taking a seat opposite Cassandra. Cassandra slid a file over to Winter and gestured for her to read it. "That there is the findings of our medical scans and our interrogations. You'll notice that it is surprisingly light but that is because of who you are." Cassandra's voice took on a harder edge as Winter scanned the documents in front of her. It detailed the work conditions at two of her father's mines. The horrible conditions that the faunus were undergoing. Near freezing temperatures, insufficient meals, improper clothing and housing coupled with the nearly endless workday; she was surprised that anything would be able to live under these conditions. Her mind barely processed Cassandra's final words before a tinge of worry washed over her. The Admiral wasn't an idiot, she had to know of Winter's connection to the Schnee Dust Company. Her bloody name was the exact same. "Now, you're probably wondering what's going to happen next. Simple, you affirm that you've left your family's legacy behind or you can walk away. I can always get a different liaison but I hope you do decide to stay. It makes working with this case so much easier." Cassandra's voice drifted over to Winter who easily made her decision.

"Jacques Schnee couldn't handle the fact that I was joining the Atlesian Military. He took my birthright, which I care little for, and burdened my little sister with it. I'm loyal to Atlas, nothing else." Winter said with a cold edge, her irritation growing as Cassandra smirked at her.

"That's good to hear, I just had to make sure you weren't going to cause trouble for us. Besides, General Ironwood seemed to trust you implicitly with this task so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Here are the rest of the files. The prisoners we took, the status of the faunus, and the ever growing list of crimes your father will answer for." Cassandra handed her another file, a much thicker one at that. "Before we get into that, why don't we have a nice little chat?" Cassandra pulled a tiny box from underneath the table and placed it on the table. She slid it over to Winter who set the file down and opened the box. "Do you know what that is?"

"It's inert crystal dust, I've worked with it quite often since it does fuel our livelihoods. What does this have to do with anything?" She answered, not understanding where the Admiral was going with this.

Cassandra linked her hands together and rested her chin on them, "I want to know how to refine that. You're going to tell me. You must've seen how it was refined, your father would have probably groomed you to take over the company before you turned your back on it. You want to prove yourself loyal to Atlas? Tell me how to refine that," Cassandra was hoping that she cooperated. If she was able to find out how to refine it, it would serve two purposes. One, it provided a new arsenal for the ground forces to work with. Second, it would provide a key stepping stone against Schnee Dust. From what Aimee was pulling from the Atlas military channels, Schnee Dust had an iron grip on the Dust trade. It monopolized the entire Dust trade. That's why the Atlesian military seems to be guarding its mines.

Winter looked between the Admiral who was deep in thought and the inert crystals in front of her. _'Could I really turn my back on them? On Weiss?'_ However, the second thought decided her course of action. Jacques Schnee had turned his back on her and he would do the same to her little sister if she even slightly deviated from his plans. If this woman in front of her could tear apart everything Jacques worked for and get her little sister out of his clutches, she'd do it. "All right, here's how you begin…"

 **UNSC Eternity, Observation Bay 2B, Seven Hours Later**

Aimee fizzled into existence on a holodisk sitting on the table. She looked between Cassandra and Winter who were both slumped over, passed out from the work they had been doing. She tsked and smiled softly at Cassandra, knowing that the Admiral was overworking herself. She decided to let them rest. After they were rested, she was going to force Cassandra to relax for a while. Her eyes drifted over to Winter, musing on how it might be nice for the two of them to take some time off together. Cassandra really did need more friends, maybe Winter would be the right start. With those thoughts in her matrix, she quickly compiled the data she found scattered around the table before fizzling out to analyze it on her own.

 **UNSC Eternity, Observation Bay 2B, Two Hours Later**

Cassandra awoke with a groan, clutching her neck as pain radiated throughout it. Her eyes fluttered open as she took in her surroundings. The past hours came to her as she groaned again and pushed the still sleeping Schnee awake.

"Wake up, Liaison Schnee. I believe we fell asleep during our little chat." Cassandra told her as Schnee groaned and grasped her own neck. Cassandra sorted the papers before standing and stretching with a yawn. Winter followed shortly after before nodding to Cassandra that she was ready. "I'll escort you back to the hanger where you'll be transported back to Firebase Romeo. Today was a rather productive day, don't you think?" Cassandra said with a wry smile. Winter gave her a hesitant grin as well, knowing that her life had changed by what she had done. Regardless of what the outcome was, she would never be able to face her family the same.

"Very product indeed, Admiral." Winter replied with a small but confident smile as she was led from the observation bay by Cassandra. "Do you mind if I took quarters here for the night? To be frank, I'm dead tired and I'd rather not wait a few hours before going to sleep."

"Of course, I have a spare bedroom near mine. It's yours whenever you want to use it." Cassandra replied with a wave of her hand as she walked off, yawning as she did so.

 **Council Chamber, Atlas**

"What in the hell have you all done?" Ironwood said, staring at the paper in front of him.

"What we needed to do, Schnee found out about our little olive branch mission and was not pleased whatsoever. He's threatened to pull the plug on all Schnee Dust assets within Atlas." One of the council members said with a defeated sigh.  
"Then, take them by force! Damnit, we're one of the best fighting forces on this planet!" Ironwood snarled back, the paper crunched in his hands.

"You obviously haven't been notified then. He's hired some mercenaries to "protect his assets seeing as how Atlas has been utterly incompetent in doing so". Another council member said with a sneer. "He still refuses to believe that our losses were against a much stronger force than those White Fang mongrels. However, these mercenaries aren't your ordinary run of the mill guns for hire. They're huntsmen and huntresses. Schnee's paid good money and its showing." Ironwood dropped the paper, citing that any Atlas personnel with ties to the 'White Fang' were to be branded traitors. Among the list, Ironwood found Winter as well as several others he had assigned to the UNSC for further diplomatic talks. He soon found his hands filled with a folder containing tons of dossiers.

"Graduates from Beacon, Haven, even Atlas Academy. While they aren't the best of the best from each academy, they'll provide enough of an obstacle that taking those assets might just result in us losing more than the dust facilities and warehouses. On top of that, we've discovered something in our own military general staff." Sil, the only council member that treated Ironwood with any respect, told him softly before handing him another file. Ironwood grew more horrified as the file revealed the corruption that ran deep in the Atlesian military. Contractors, officers, weapons manufacturers, they all answered in some form to Schnee or someone tied to Schnee.

"Even if we tried to take those facilities by force, there's a good chance that'd we'd be subject to a military coup. Jacques Schnee may be a blind fool, but the man isn't an idiot. He understands that it is better to rule in the shadows, minimize the consequences on him. We're on a short leash General. A _very_ short leash."

"Then, esteemed council members, how about we work to break it?" Ironwood said, his eyes alight with determination.

 **AN: So ah...If it seems off, there's probably a reason to it that I can explain later on. Feel free to give me _constructive_ criticism. Not flames. Don't just tell me the chapter or the story sucked because it's different from canon or you didn't like where it's going. ← I will ignore these btw and most likely just remove them. Tell me what to improve on and suggest what'd you like to see. It may not look like it but I do read your reviews and take suggestions to heart even if I do forget a few. Also, can I ask someone for a timeline of what's happened? After losing my data, I'm kinda lost on how long it has been since the story started. I plan on taking us to Beacon soon. Don't worry about that, there's no way that I can make a RWBY fanfic without our favorite school being shown at least once as well as our favorite huntresses. As for the UNSC and possible other Halo forces, just wait and see for that.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Foehammer: Signing Off**


End file.
